The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, written by Eric Roth (Munich, which was morally repugnant) and directed by David Fincher (Zodiac, which was miserable) is breathtaking and, on purely cinematic grounds, it is a grand three hours, as the tagline says, of life...
ARTS
Why ‘Chappaquiddick’ is a Breakthrough
That this movie exists is a cinematic achievement. Whatever my criticism, whatever its flaws, the movie about an American government official's deliberate, historic conspiracy — a real, proven conspiracy of corruption, deceit and silence, ahem, Oliver Stone — to cover...
Light ‘Argo’ Dramatizes Escape from Iran
Ben Affleck's 2012 movie, Argo, reduces the so-called Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981) to an episode of smaller proportions with satisfactory results. This isn't great cinema, and it leaves a lot of meaning, context and history out of the picture, but the docudrama, if...
Interview with Alexander Marriott on Nat Turner
History teacher Alexander Marriott examines facts and fiction about slave rebel Nat Turner in this exclusive interview by Scott Holleran about Nate Parker’s 2016 film, The Birth of a Nation.
The Merchant of Mars
The head of NASA convinces the President that space exploration should be done by private industry, and the United States government declares, “The first person to land on Mars, live there a year, and return alive owns the whole Red Planet.” Welcome to the greatest race in history.
Creeping Egalitarianism Is Ruining The Oscars
This egalitarian ideal sets the standard as the color of one’s skin, or sex or sexual orientation, as against the quality of the movie, performance or direction.
Movie Review: High Noon
United Artists' High Noon (1952) is a lightning rod of controversy. This compelling movie was made with the best talents and its taut, purpose-driven plot gains and keeps attention. Any honest appraisal must account for its flaws, too. I recently saw it again at the...
Book Review: Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve
Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve is an enjoyable exercise in re-framing what the reader probably already knows about a favorite writer and discovering references, patterns and facts the reader may not know.
Movie Review: The Birth of a Nation (2016)
The controversial film about America’s 1831 slave rebellion undercuts the nature and power of Nat Turner’s story and makes everything seem too pat.
Movie Review: Sully
Clint Eastwood (Jersey Boys, American Sniper, Gran Torino, Invictus) made another little character masterpiece with Sully, starring Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley Sullenberger. Review by Scott Holleran
Racism and the Oscars
The attempt to smear winners of this year’s nominations for Academy Awards with “racism” is actually racism itself.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a clever and pleasant diversion about having faith that the good is possible.
Movie & Blu-Ray Review: Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1997)
Strand Releasing's 1997 documentary Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, is, in retrospect, a cinematic achievement. The 143-minute movie debuts on Blu-Ray on July 28. Other than a new trailer and enhanced English SHD sound, this is the same product as the Collector's DVD...
Movies: Tomorrowland Lacks Imagination
“Walt Disney loved showing how stuff works. No one in this movie plausibly would have the curiosity for new knowledge and reverence for the manmade to look twice at a futurist attraction at Tomorrowland, except possibly Laurie’s villainous character.”
The Sound of Music (1965)
Director Robert Wise's The Sound of Music for 20th Century Fox is an opulent and lavish production. The 1965 movie musical, written by Ernest Lehman, is melodic and cinematic. At the start of its nearly three hours, with sweeping aerial photography in famous opening...
Movie Review: Malcolm X
The words "...by any means necessary," conclude Spike Lee's racist propaganda piece, Malcolm X. This phrase asserting that the ends justify the means, a rationalization for tyranny throughout history, is the movie's theme. Lee capably gives "by any means necessary",...
Movie Review: Selma
Selma is a lost opportunity. A great movie about achieving 20th century progress for blacks in America has yet to be made. Selma is an example of how not to do it.
Atlas Shrugged Movie Producer Harmon Kaslow Responds to Criticisms
Devoted fans of the perennially best-selling novel about the productive vs. the destructive, have expressed disappointment in the filmmakers’ decisions. Producer Harmon Kaslow answers some of those criticisms.
Movie Review: America
Emphasizing emotions over facts, the propellant and powerful America: Imagine the World Without Her, co-written and co-directed by conservative author Dinesh D'Souza, teems with a proper American sense of life. It is limited in its power, which strongly builds yet...
Movie Review: Atlas Shrugged Part 3
As I previewed last month, the new and final part of libertarian businessman John Aglialoro's independent movie trilogy adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged, features Christian libertarian ex-congressman Ron Paul of Texas. It's a plot point that, however...
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, beautifully portrayed on every level by Chris Evans, depicts what ought to be America’s shining response to evil.
Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave
Written by John Ridley and directed by Steve McQueen,12 Years a Slave, based on the book by Solomon Northrup, deposits us into slavery in the 19th century’s American South. It is an excellent example of the best type of cinematic naturalism, delivering characters to...
Movie Review: V for Vendetta
An allegorical warning against tyranny.
Why The Hunger Games Satisfies
The Hunger Games is not explicitly for individual rights or any other political ideal; its power lies in a subtle grasp of what government control does to decent people.
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