“A modern day Our Gang set in a tacky welfare motel on the outskirts of Orlando, this boisterously funny heartbreaker follows three little rascals making mischief and wreaking havoc during a poverty-stricken summer in the shadow of the happiest place on Earth. I laughed and I laughed until all of the sudden I couldn’t stop crying.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/12/2017
“There are enough acerbic one-liners for at least two movies, but it’s the inarticulate Sandler who supplies the soul. Every seven years or so this extraordinarily lazy performer reminds us of his immense talent, here slouching through the picture in cargo shorts, forcing smiles under a cloud. When the zingers land he makes you feel where they hit.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/11/2017
“The pleasure is in watching the straightforward, unfussy performances by two seasoned pros who know better than to push too hard. A beauty of a scene finds Fonda silently unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding over to lean on Redford’s shoulder as he drives, their wonderfully weathered faces saying more than these characters ever could put into words.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/11/2017
“Flanagan doesn’t leave any room for dread, gussying up the proceedings with constant visits from chatty ghosts and other apparitions along with frequent flashbacks. Gerald’s Game is too full of busywork to ever get around to dramatizing the horror of being trapped, helpless and alone, which I thought was supposed to be the whole point.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/11/2017
“A historical tragedy viewed from four feet off the ground by a character who doesn’t quite grasp what’s happening. We’re thrown into volatile situations that are only half-understood, freed from the overarching historical baggage we can’t help but bring to so many war movies, left instead to simply feel this one on a moment-to-moment basis.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/11/2017
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US * *
Starring Idris Elba, Kate Winslet and Beau Bridges. Screenplay by J. Mills Goodloe and Chris Weitz. Directed by Hany Abu-Assad.
Had an absolute blast on WDEL’s Saturday HotSpot talking with host Frank Gregory about forty years of Saturday Night Fever. We discuss the film’s turbulent history, including the cast, the soundtrack, the fired director, madman screenwriter Norman Wexler and the phony magazine article that started it all. Listen to MP3s of the show after the jump. Continue reading
“Harry made it look so easy for sixty years. His work doesn’t seem like anything’s happening. He walks onscreen fully in life, three-dimensional with his own key light and his own shadow. He lived that way, and he played that way. That is an estimable thing. That is something to be inspired by and aspire to. I’m so happy we got this movie made.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/06/2017
“A movie for people who miss the voice-over narration. It’s a talky, blocky launching pad for yet another cinematic universe, short on incident but long on sequel setups and what studio executives like to call world-building. What a frustrating act of diminishment this project is, transforming an enigmatic classic into a branded franchise property. It turns poetry into prose.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 10/05/2017
“A rip-roaring romp through the Reagan administration’s many foreign policy malfeasances and misdeeds. The satirical masterstroke is casting Cruise as the blithely amoral hustler at its center. It’s a grand performance of toothy grins, aw-shucks charm and movie star magnetism. Barry’s so much fun to watch you keep forgetting he’s one of the bad guys.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 09/29/2017
SPLICED PERSONALITY 