“Such self-plagiarism is nothing new for Woody Allen, who these days mostly seems to be mixing and matching scenes and themes from his previous pictures more out of habit than inspiration. Wonder Wheel runs down a checklist of the filmmaker’s tired pet obsessions while occasionally playing like a parody of post-war Broadway miserabilism.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 12/07/2017
“The evocative animation sticks to bold, simple line drawings, my favorite design belonging to a massive hulk of an adult figure who becomes an unlikely ally to Parvana. I was captivated by how much director Twomey is able to convey by the fashion in which he slices fruit, a pause in his process bringing one of the film’s most unexpected emotional payoffs.” – North Shore Movies, 12/07/2017
“You look at every role and everybody gets their big monologue, their show-stopping piece. It’s how you write a script when you want to attract big stars. You have Robin Williams on the bench, Minnie Driver talking about her dad, everyone gets their Oscar clip. It also created this ridiculous Boston caricature that only two guys from Cambridge could write.” – Boston.com, 12/05/2017
“It’s very entertaining, borrowing bits of Bowfinger and of course Ed Wood while putting a happy face on our misfit moviemakers and their oversized dreams. What it doesn’t do is probe the darkness bubbling underneath all the bungling. The movie meticulously re-creates The Room’s most famously botched scenes, but shies away from its tortured soul.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 12/01/2017
ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. * *
Starring Denzel Washington, Carmen Ejogo, Amanda Warren, Hugo Armstrong and Colin Farrell. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy.
“‘I’ve been thinking a lot about Hanks in relation to the silent comedians,’ the Brattle’s creative director Ned Hinkle explained. ‘He’s like Buster Keaton but with a face made of rubber rather than stone. His commitment to the physical comedy is astounding, but from the very beginning he was able to connect with the real emotions that drive these characters.'” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 11/20/2017
JUSTICE LEAGUE * 1 / 2
Starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller. Screenplay by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon. Directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon.
“Three Billboards is the most consistently surprising film I’ve seen this year not because of its plot twists, but because these characters are constantly revealing unexpected sides of themselves. It’s a movie full of furious folks acting out with moral certainty and righteous indignation, all of them only slowly learning just how little they know.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 11/17/2017
“These are productive conversations that feel depressingly necessary at a cultural moment when patriotism is once again being conflated with blind obeisance. The characters in Last Flag Flying love this country enough to question what they fought and bled for, demanding that we in the audience honor their sacrifice by doing the same.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 11/17/2017
Continuing in my role as the Billy Preston of the Spoilerpiece gang, I sat in with friends Dave Riedel and Evan Crean and tried to guess what happens in Justice League without having seen it yet. Dave and I reccomended Last Flag Flying while Evan shared highlights from the 29th annual Boston Jewish Film Festival. We also talked about Near Beer. – Spoilerpiece Theatre, 11/17/2017
SPLICED PERSONALITY 