The Book Thief (Brian Percival, 2013) The best thing about this film are the young leads, Sophie Nélisse (Monsieur Lazhar),…
“Philomena” – The Triumph of Faith over Church
Philomena (Stephen Frears, 2013) Philomena manages to both attack the hypocrisy of organized religion and affirm the power of faith. It’s…
“Nebraska” Exists in Shades of Gray
Nebraska (Alexander Payne, 2013) I’ve always loved Alexander Payne’s uniquely quirky (but never twee, unlike Wes Anderson) sensibility, from films…
“The Hunger Games” Finally Catch Fire
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013) I did not like the first Hunger Games. As I wrote in…
“Kill Your Darlings” – The Future Awaits
Kill Your Darlings (John Krokidas, 2013) We’ve seen a number of films about the 1950s “Beat Generation” recently, among them Howl (about the…
“The Best Man Holiday” – A Sequel You Didn’t Know You Needed
The Best Man Holiday (Malcolm Lee, 2013) I must confess that I never saw The Best Man, back in 1999. Did…
“Dallas Buyers Club” Is Performance Positive
Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2013) Dallas Buyers Club, the new film by French Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée (The Young…
“Blue” Is the Minutest Color: Abdellatif Kechiche and the Epic Cinema of Detail
Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) From 1895 to the 1910s, the early film pioneers wrestled with the storytelling…
Okey-Loki – “Thor: The Dark World” Needs More Hiddleston
Thor: The Dark World (Alan Taylor, 2013) I have a problem with Thor. Not the Norse god, whom I never…
All Tales of Struggle Are Not Created Equal: “All Is Lost,” “Ender’s Game,” and “About Time”
Today, in Baltimore, three new films open, all of which tackle existential crises, and none of which are alike. In…
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