Scorsese has directed many a cinematic winner. But, with the exception of 2016’s “Silence” (which I found to be brilliant on so many levels) it had been a while since the accolades of brilliance could be applied to this filmmaker. Make no mistake, it is rare when he fumbles, and most of his films have found their way unto my Ten Best lists of their respective years. But over the last decade, ... more >
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Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ is a sprawling masterpiece, Joe Pesci gives memorable performance
Frank, tell us about the old days
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Putting music to film and film to music, to great effect, “Western Stars”
"Western Stars" is also the name of Bruce Springsteen's newest studio album
Co-directed by Bruce Springsteen and Thom Zimny
Cinematography by Joe DeSalvo
Bruce Springsteen and Thom Zimny’s “Western Stars” is more than a concert film. Both structurally and musically, this unique cinema experience is an homage to the life and philosophies of the American Western. The film and album are based on the constant struggle for individualism while maintaining a connection to family and friends, the eternal struggle of the cowboy. Performing all thirteen ... more >
SHE’S JUST A SHADOW (Japanese manga meets grindhouse? Yes, please)
"An orgy of sex and drugs and extreme violence"
Tao Okamoto and Haruka Abe
Directed by Adam Sherman
“Women. No matter how human they seem... they’re just shadows. But on the other hand, aren’t we all?” From the edges of the bizarre and the extremely weird, “She’s Just A Shadow” is truly something else. The matriarch of a Tokyo prostitution empire, married to a vicious and violent pimp, leads her own gang against rival yakuza. All the while, a serial killer prey on her girls and one of her ... more >
“Dolemite” is his name. Get used to it.
Film includes some Oscar-worthy performances
Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key and Mike Epps
“Dolemite is My Name”, the new film from the immensely-talented Craig Brewer, is a pleasant surprise and certainly one of the most entertaining and emotionally satisfying films I have seen this year. The wildly-vulgar character of Dolemite was the brainchild of struggling seventies comedian Rudy Ray Moore. Moore's material was too raw for the major record labels of those days, but the success ... more >
“The Lighthouse,” a mind-bending, psychologically-intense thriller
Two men's descent into madness
Willem Defoe, Robert Pattinson and Valeriia Karaman
Directed by Robert Eggers
A devious and creepy psychological film in the horror/thriller genre has made its way into cinemas in the form of Robert Eggers’s second feature, “The Lighthouse.” His first film “The Witch” was a masterpiece of tone and tension and staked its claim as one of the finest horror films of the past twenty-five years. Now comes Eggers’s latest film, one that is sure to shock, enthrall, and ... more >
“FIRST LOVE” (this is why I go to the movies!)
映画ニュース Crazy, fun and gorey 初恋
Becky, Sakurako Konishi, Masataka Kubota and Sakurako Konishi
Directed by Takashi Miike 三池 崇史
A Takashi Miike film. Don’t be afraid. Jump into his cinematic world. While he isn’t always perfect, good or bad, his films hold unique and fascinating wonders for cinephiles. “First Love” ("Hatsukoi" in the original Japanese, is Miike’s best film since 2010’s “13 Assassins.” This is a wild ride but just wild enough. Being a Miike film, we are treated to scenes of the bizarre and macabre, but ... more >
“Joker,” a morality-defying, two-hour drop down a man’s impaired psyche
This is Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips's first collaboration together
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy
Directed by Todd Phillips
I’m always skeptical when a film receives too much hype. With the on-again, off-again quality of American fare, I try not to set my hopes too high, especially when it comes to a film about the D.C. Comics's The Joker, by the director of “The Hangover” series. It is with great pleasure that I report that, while the film itself isn’t the cinematic masterpiece that some have christened it, Todd ... more >