a few thoughts on ‘Big Little Lies’ (and open thread)
I’m floored by its breakdown of toxic masculinity and toxic femininity… [This post is not behind the paywall.]
Nicole Kidman
Queen of the Desert movie review: Gertrude Bell gets forgotten again
This may be Werner Herzog’s most conventional film, but its mostly untold true story knows what it means for a woman to choose a life of adventure and intellect.
my picks for tonight’s 89th Academy Awards (the Oscars for 2016’s films)
Now updated with winners…
curated: actors are allowed to speak publicly about their political opinions
Even if you disagree with them.
The Family Fang movie review: family bites
Strikingly original, a truly rare pleasure in a cinematic environment clogged with cookie-cutter films. Jason Bateman and Nicole Kidman are splendid.
Where Are the Women? Secret in Their Eyes
Gets close to representing women well but falls down, and ends up a story about a man obsessed with the rape and murder of a pretty blonde teenaged girl.
Secret in Their Eyes movie review: it should have remained untold
The 2009 Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film has been given a listless Hollywood makeover, one that wastes Chiwetel Ejiofor’s effortless sincerity.
Paddington movie review: please look in on this movie, thank you
Adorable. So witty and compassionate and bittersweet and just the right little bit of snarky that you will cry tears of joy from the perfection of it.
Before I Go to Sleep movie review: memento worry
When it finally collapses under the weight of its own preposterousness, this would-be elegant thriller becomes a cheap retrograde melodrama.
Grace of Monaco movie review: it’s hard to be a woman
It’s not emotionally enthralling, but there’s still much that’s intriguing in this portrait of a woman who refused to let herself be pushed out of frame.
