curated cinema: nailing a crooked politician, and making it good TV
2008’s Frost/Nixon is on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ron Howard
The Grinch movie review: he’s not much of a mean one, actually
Candy-colored slapstick and kindergarten-level humor make this perfectly suitable for small children, and perfectly bland and inoffensive to the adults accompanying them. Somehow, I don’t think Dr. Seuss would entirely approve.
dreaming of a female-gazey Han Solo movie…
…maybe one directed by a woman who understands why we love this scoundrel.
Solo: A Star Wars Story movie review: where has our scoundrel gone?
A Star Wars–flavored juice drink* of a movie (*contains 10% real juice) that tells us nothing of significance we didn’t already know about Han Solo, in an incarnation that lacks his essential charisma and precarious danger.
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years documentary review: yeah yeah yeah
There’s not a lot new here, but the vintage footage is fab, as is the much-needed reminder that the supposedly innocent past was hardly innocent at all.
In the Heart of the Sea movie review: here be monsters (and whales)
Solid, old-school man-versus-nature adventure melodrama, with a simmering green awareness; rollicking, smart, breathtaking, and sobering.
The Martian movie review: life on Mars
An excellent complement to the novel, simplifying the science without dumbing it down yet retaining the suspense and urgency of its interplanetary stranding.
Boyhood movie review: time in a cinematic bottle
An audacious coming-of-age tale unique in the history of cinema; deeply moving and beautifully authentic.
1976: Hunt vs. Lauda (aka Hunt vs. Lauda) review
As with the semifictionalized Rush, this documentary look at the first superstars of Formula One is gripping even if you couldn’t care less about racing.
Rush review: man + machine vs man + machine
A thoroughly magnificent film on every level, with astonishing performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl; one of the very best films of 2013.
