Film
Toy Story’s 5th another fine production
“Toy Story 5” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. The latest installation of the “Toy Story” franchise extends its record as one of the most adaptable film franchises. Perhaps its success comes from its palpable themes of vulnerability — being replaced, being outgrown or forgotten, becoming irrelevant. Maybe it’s the potpourri of misfits, voiced by […]
‘The Death of Robin Hood’
⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. Revisionism is a powerful dispeller of myth. Consider how Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, and Stanley Kubrick reframed the public understanding of the Vietnam War. Or how Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, and Clint Eastwood cut the morally righteous reins on the American Western. Read more At the Middle East, […]
A movie for Juneteenth
Friday is Juneteenth, and the Brattle Theatre celebrates with one of cinema’s great African American epics. Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” (1992) casts Denzel Washington as the legendary civil rights activist, following his life from his birth in Nebraska to his emergence as one of the most influential and outspoken figures in 20th century America. “Malcolm […]
A new kind of close encounter with the aliens among us
“Disclosure Day” ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 4. When Steven Spielberg makes a movie about aliens, it’s a good idea to pay attention. His latest, “Disclosure Day,” brings the Spielbergian pop mystique, while also being one of the most singularly weird original blockbusters in ages. Josh O’Connor plays Daniel Keller, an operative who goes rogue […]
Film noir & David Lynch’s America
If someone asked you to picture a film noir, you’d probably conjure a handful of visual signifiers: a sultry femme fatale, a hard-drinking gumshoe in a fedora, shadows darker than the human soul. But what would it sound like? Chances are you can already hear a low, bluesy saxophone, possibly accompanied by lightly brushed drums […]
Four new films explore war, gender, and crime true and comedic
“Pressure” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. Who knew that the timing of D-Day was much ado about dueling meteorologists? Obviously, David Haig, whose play about this little-known chapter of the war gets the big-screen treatment in the capable hands of Anthony Maras (the deft thriller, “Hotel Mumbai”) — and Haig, who co-wrote the screenplay. […]
Celebrating youth-based films with DIYDS
For teens — especially teens of color or diverse socioeconomic backgrounds — representation on screen can be uninspiring at best, and opportunities behind the camera are next to nonexistent. Thankfully, the Do It Your Damn Self National Youth Film Festival, which screens its yearly showcase Friday at the Brattle Theatre, remains an oasis of youthful […]
Two movies on rules rewritten & rules broken
“Ladies First” ⭐⭐ Rating: 2 out of 4. Speaking of gloriously gonzo, Sacha Baron Cohen, the hot mess (said with respect and gratitude) behind the devilishly caustic “Borat” films, stars in this rom-com-lite, gender-reversal spin with a side of nasty. The movie has a killer cast (Charles Dance, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw, […]
Two new movies grapple with our disorienting, disoriented world
“Backrooms” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. If you’ve ever made a wrong turn in a shopping mall and found yourself in a space not intended for public view, you’ve had the eerie sensation captured by “Backrooms,” the new horror film from first-time director Kane Parsons. The seemingly innocuous setting is Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, […]
Marilyn Monroe centennial, dance horror classics, Demme on (Laser)Disc
This week marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Norma Jeane Mortenson, better known to the world as Marilyn Monroe. More than 60 years after her death, Monroe remains one of the most famous people in the world, her name, face and iconography even more inescapable than during her too-short lifetime. Often overlooked […]