Writer and Director Taika Waititi won the best adapted screenplay Oscar this year for his movie “Jojo Rabbit,” a satirical comedy about a Nazi youth named Jojo Beztler, played by Roman David Griffiths, who finds a Jewish girl named Elsa, played by Thomasin McKenzie, hiding in the walls of his house. The film mocks the…
“The Two Popes:” check the facts
One afternoon over Christmas break, my sister Lillian sat down in the living room and watched “The Two Popes” on her phone’s Netflix app. I was sitting near her for the greater part of her watch and distinctly remember that she had a bit of a bone to pick with the movie upon finishing it.…
“The Joker” is not worth it
Comic book legend Frank Miller released a book in 2011 called “Holy Terror.” Originally pitched to DC Comics as a Batman story, it follows a masked hero (Batman, duh) and his sexy sidekick (Catwoman) fighting an unnamed Al Qaeda stand in. The book is Islamophobic and ultimately devoid of substance: it is a piece that…
“The Irishman” is worth it
The first thing to know about “The Irishman” is that it is 3.5 hours long. That has been much of the conversation surrounding the film since before its limited release in theatres last year and especially after it went live on Netflix a month later. When I brought it up around Christmas, I found I…
Where is Greta Gerwig, you cowards??
“Congratulations to those men,” said actress and writer Issa Rae after announcing the Best Director Oscar nominees on the morning of Monday, Jan. 13. Her words, though said in passing, dripped with the disaffected contempt of a woman scorned. There are a lot of trends in the past week’s Oscars nominations that I do not…
Movie Review: Bombshell bombs
I was so geeked to see “Bombshell.” The trailer, showing Charlize Theron looking exactly like Meygn Kelly while Billie Eillish’s “bad guy” throbbed in the background, was absolutely gripping. Unlike recent movies that have recounted political and historical events like “Vice,” “The Post,” and “The Big Short,” the sexual harassment allegations and subsequent firing of…
Movie Review: “Uncut Gems”
Adam Sandler did not get an Oscar nomination, but that does not mean he did not deserve one for the entertaining and fascinating picture “Uncut Gems.” Sandler plays Howard, a dealer in New York City’s diamond district. He runs a small shop and sells jewelry to people like NBA player Kevin Garnett and anyone else…