“Dunkirk” star Fionn Whitehead has joined the cast of “The Duke,” a heist feature which will also star Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent. The film will be directed by Roger Michell, who previously directed “Notting Hill,” “Venus,” “My Cousin Rachel” and the TIFF-premiering film, “Blackbird.” “The Duke” is written by Richard Bean […] More
2019 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: It is never easy to accept the impending death of a loved one. Even more troubling is the knowledge that they have chosen to die. Following in the vein of award-winning films such as “The Sea Inside” and “Million Dollar Baby,” the controversial topic of euthanasia features prominently in “Blackbird.” […] More
Sometimes titles really tell you everything. “Tea with the Dames” is just that. Four of our most renowned thespians gather for tea in a picturesque home in the English countryside. Dames Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Joan Plowright are all magnificent subjects for such an informal interview and documentary. It’s not just because […] More
After the almost universally derided misfire that was Hyde Park on Hudson (even if I sort of liked it for what it was, removed from Oscar expectations, of course), director Roger Michell is back on much more solid ground with the romantic comedy Le Week-End. The film in fact reminds me quite a bit of […] More
The Wind Rises (★★½) For some reason, the films of Hiyazo Miyazaki never really did it for me over the years. Ironically, his final feature The Wind Rises has been getting rather middling reviews so far but represents the closest I’ve ever come to embracing one of his movies. This is an amazingly beautiful bit […] More
Perhaps no film this year has been easier to make fun of in advance of its release than ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’. I know I had a few silly names for it earlier in 2012 when comparing it to something like ‘My Week with Marilyn’, but go figure…I prefer this film to that one. When […] More
Being that this weekend kicks off with “a date which will live in infamy,” it’s fitting that FDR makes a big-screen appearance in Hyde Park on the Hudson. Toss in some romantic comedies, some foreign features, and some drama and you’ve got some options to hold you till “the big one” next week (The Hobbit, […] More
A few months back, Hyde Park on Hudson looked like a premium slice of King’s Speech-style Oscar bait. Then the trailer hit, and its awards chances looked somewhat slimmer. This morning I attended a screening of the film, and if the Academy decides to reward this lacklustre exercise in dreary historical drama then I may […] More
Sizing Up Series continues with an in-depth look at the Director candidates for this year’s Oscar ceremony. As was the case last year, there are a few things to keep an eye for this particular category. One obviously is that a lot will have to do with which films get nominated for Best Picture at […] More
Today the New York Film Festival brought a presumed Oscar hopeful, Germany’s official submission for the foreign language category at the Academy Awards, and a tender-hearted documentary that surprised the likes of many, including myself. Hyde Park on Hudson (***) I try extremely hard to not read reviews, especially for Oscar hopefuls. At Telluride and […] More
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