Posts Tagged ‘film’
Oscar’s Hidden Gold
And the Oscar goes to … that guy. An analysis of the awards’ not-so-major categories.KRISTIAN LIN
It’s late February, which means that it’s time for my annual analysis of the Oscars’ mid-major categories. I like writing this piece, because it’s a way for me to recognize terrific work in aspects of film that I don’...
Films and Not Films
BIG TICKETBy now, the story has become part of cinematic lore: Confined to house arrest and banned from filmmaking, Iranian director Jafar Panahi responded by shooting a documentary in his house and smuggling it out of Iran on a flash dr...
Les Misérables: Do You Hear the Actors Sing?
At the end of the day, a strong cast saves this musical.KRISTIAN LIN
I’ve never been a fan of Les Misérables, the Broadway musical, and the movie version reminded me of all the reasons: the bombast, the simplistic characters, the relentless self-seriousness, the endless ballads that all sound...
Family History
BIG TICKETArnon Goldfinger was a TV director and documentarian in Israel when his grandmother, Gerda Tuchler, passed away. Gerda had fled Nazi Germany and retained as much of her German culture as possible, though she spoke English with ...
Night & Day
KRISTIAN LINWED ▪ 14 Local playwright T.J. Walsh wrote a play about 19th-century Swedish playwright August Strindberg and his tumultuous problems with mental illness, unorthodox religious beliefs, state censorship, and relationships with...
Lincoln: Long Live the Union
Daniel Day-Lewis overshadows Steven Spielberg’s political drama.KRISTIAN LIN
Here we are in 2012, and Steven Spielberg is still surprising me. Because Lincoln has been released one week after a presidential election, everyone is inevitably dissecting his movie for political content and its relevance to ...
Fun Size: Late-Night Justice
This Halloween comedy sends you home with less candy than expected.KRISTIAN LIN
This sounds like a canny piece of counterprogramming. Every year, the movie studios pollute October with another grim batch of horror sequels about ghosts, demons, and slashers. So why not go the other way and put out a Hallowe...
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: American Reunion (R) Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (the Harold and Kumar movies) take over the series, as the whole gang from American Pie returns for their class reunion. Starring Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott...
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: Deep in the Heart (PG-13) Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite) stars in this drama as a recovering alcoholic determined to put his kids through college. Also with Elaine Hendrix, Rheagan Wallace, James Haven, Donny Boaz, Kath...
Arrietty: Borrowed Time
This delicate Japanese animated fable lights up our multiplexes.KRISTIAN LIN
So what’s it gonna take for Hayao Miyazaki to get his due in America? The co-founder of Studio Ghibli has built his legacy on animated films for children, and his studio’s body of work is every bit as strong as Pixar’s. Y...