Category: Mindless Mondays

Two documentaries that feature Gore Vidal. In one, he’s the star, and in the other (which is really about The New York Review of Books) his sparring matches with Norman Mailer are the most interesting parts. “The 50 Year Argument”…A very dry, somewhat boring doc about The New York Review of Books, that could really…

An eclectic movie mix from HBO as I take a look at a cancelled TV show having a feature length film send-off, an award-winning TV movie, and a notable documentary. “Hello Ladies”…A slightly unusual send-off for an HBO series that was cancelled after only one season of 8 half hour (at most) episodes. In fact, the 82…

A movie that deserves the praise it’s getting, a near (and deserving) lock for Best Actor, Director, and Picture nominations. It gets you to think about Michael Keaton and formerly-too-somber director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in a totally new way. What Works: From a technical standpoint, “Birdman” is flawless, thanks to these flowing tracking shots famed cinematographer Emmanuel…

Every now and then a film slips through the cracks, and these three documentaries (all about artists and the process of creating art) are—to various extents—worth pulling out of those cracks. [Yep, that’s what passes for an allegory these days.] “Jodorowsky’s Dune”…The best of the three, but also one of the best films I’ve seen…

Otherwise known as “The Edward Snowden documentary,” CitizenFour (no, that’s not a typo, the movie takes its name from an internet username that isn’t spaced) is a fairly good movie about the state of American surveillance and the creeping Big Brother aspect into the military industrial complex. It’s essentially asking, “If a government knows literally…

I’m going to come right out and say that I really didn’t like this movie very much, and think that a lot of the effusive critical praise (and Oscar buzz that comes with that) should really be going to some of the better films out there. [Foxcatcher and Whiplash come to mind.] I have no…

This is the rare film that I would absolutely recommend but also understand if not everyone liked it. Some of the criticisms being leveled against it are fair ones, but I also feel like—-at this point—-it’s a nearly underrated work that isn’t getting its proper due. It deserves to be more at the forefront of…

Two unconventional romances that aren’t really romances at all. Both a little on the somber side, and you might be better off watching them alone since neither is really a good date film…   The Lunchbox…A very quiet Indian film (more like the anti-Bollywood, as it’s all hushed tones and remorse) triggered by something almost…

Two political documentaries about empty-suit Republicans. Why make a documentary about Donald Rumsfeld? Why make a movie about Mitt Romney? Why two of the least interesting men in America? The reality is that these two might be so insanely white-bread that they’re bizarrely fascinating…BUT that’s not what happens. In both cases, you get the sense…

Every now and then a mid-range movie slips through the cracks, and why not use Thanksgiving to catch up on some of them with quick reviews? Enjoy the Holiday, and check back throughout the weekend for more reviews… “Fading Gigolo” …One of the rare recent “Woody” movies to star Woody Allen but not be directed or written…

The exact opposite of “Rosewater” in that it’s a sprawling film on a vast canvas that no one will accuse of being too light or insufficiently big enough to see at the theater. IMAX screenings are rarely worth the extra ticket price, but this is the best film since “Gravity” to watch that way. Even…

Jon Stewart’s directorial debut isn’t really worth rushing out to watch in theaters–but few people are anyway–and I think it’ll find a proper home on Netflix or HBO, where more people will likely see it and that’s probably the right move. At least half the movie is intimate two-person scenes set in a tight interrogation…