The 10 Best Films of 2020 (and 10 Terrific Runners-Up!) – Part 1
APRIL 6, 2021 When the expected big guns of the 2020 Oscar race (“Dune,” “The French Dispatch,” & “West Side Story,” just to name a few) were hustled off…
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Now Playing in Your Living Room: Bigger Isn’t Always Better in Ryan Murphy’s “The Prom”
JANUARY 20, 2021 When “The Prom” first opened on Broadway in 2018 with little advance ticket sales and stars who were hardly household names, the show was referred to…
The Top 10 Oscar Contenders For Best Documentary Feature Film (and Where to Find Them)
JANUARY 19, 2021 Unlike the race for Best International Film, where many of the leading contenders are difficult to locate and screen, the nomination contest for Best Documentary Feature…
Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” — The Masterwork That Almost Got Away
JANUARY 11, 2021 The final chapter of what is arguably the strangest behind-the-scenes film story of the 21st century is likely to conclude this month as HBO Max brings…
Now Playing in Your Living Room: Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy” — How Did It Go So Wrong?
DECEMBER 21, 2020 On paper, it seemed like a slam dunk. “Hillbilly Elegy,” the memoir by J.D. Vance that became one of the best-selling books of 2016, was finally…
Who Could Surprise Us On Oscar Nomination Morning?
DECEMBER 14. 2020 As the chosen ones are announced every year on Oscar nomination morning, there always seems to be one out of the blue nominee not taken seriously…
Now Playing in Your Living Room: Paul Bettany’s Strong Performance Is Almost Lost Amid the Otherwise Forgettable “Uncle Frank”
NOVEMBER 27, 2020 Thirteen years after his most recent film, 2007’s “Towelhead,” Alan Ball returns to feature filmmaking with “Uncle Frank,” a comedy/drama which, like most of his work,…
Now Playing in Your Living Room: Spike Lee Takes the Concert Film to New Heights with “David Byrne’s American Utopia”
NOVEMBER 3, 2020 Please allow me to whine for a moment. Last winter, when “David Byrne’s American Utopia” was selling out on Broadway at the Hudson Theater, I vowed…
Now Playing in Your Living Room: “What the Constitution Means to Me” Is a Comedy That Packs an Unexpected Punch
OCTOBER 29, 2020 Photo: Joan Marcus You can’t say that director Marielle Heller shies away from a challenge. After her acclaimed directing debut, 2015’s “Diary of a Teenage Girl,”…
Now Playing in Your Living Room: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Has Lowered the Shock Value But the Laughs Are Still There
OCTOBER 28, 2020 It’s rare that a hit comedy has to wait 14 years for a sequel and even rarer that the sequel is even good. But the huge…
