Nobody said it was easy. Being a film critic in the year 2022 was certainly difficult, as this year goes down in the history books as one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

2022 saw one of the most lackluster of all Sundance Festivals (although I found a few gems), David O. Russell made his only bad film (“Amsterdam”) and the public turned their backs on directors such as Steven Spielberg

Matthew Heineman has taken his camera to some of the most dangerous places on earth. For “City of Ghosts” from 2017 he filmed those brave souls who dared to decry the Islamic State’s terror tactics in Syria. Heineman’s latest is “Retrograde,” which started out as a chronicle of the final battalion of Green Berets stationed in Afghanistan but became a record of a rushed U.S. exit, followed by a surge of Afghan refugees desperate to escape the Taliban’s

Ramin Bahrani steers far clear of the conventional.  Roger Ebert called him one of the most promising filmmakers on the scene, and indeed Bahrani dedicated “99 Homes” to the late critic.  His more recent films include the HBO movie “Fahrenheit 451” and “The White Tiger,” the latter for which he was Oscar-nominated.  All feature protagonists who are complicated or unusual.  

Bahrani has kept up this trend with

The documentary filmmaker Dror Moreh doesn’t let his view of our species sneak up on you. Speaking on a video call from Tel Aviv recently, the director of “The Corridors of Power” minces no words.

“It’s a dark world,” he said, “and the human being is a horrible beast.”

Moreh would know. He’s spent the better part of the last decade making the documentary

With artistry and imagination “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” arrives in theaters as one of the most stunningly original and pleasing films of 2022. With a marvelous and inventive screenplay from Patrick McHale, Matthew Robbins, and del Toro, the tale is moved to 1900s Europe as fascism takes hold. Woodworker Geppetto (David Bradley) is a beloved citizen

The documentary film “Dreams’ Gate” (“Darvazeye royaha” in the original [...]

If your life hasn’t been touched by Alzheimer’s or dementia, consider yourself fortunate.  The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that over 6 million adults over age 65 are battling the disease today, and that number is expected to increase to more than 12 million by 2050.  

One of those afflicted with the disease is Todd Ward, father of actor Zack Ward—best known as the bully Scut Farkus