The first thing to remember about “Interstellar” –Christopher Nolan’s fantastically-loopy apocalyptic father-daughter space saga is its nature as a scientific parable. Nolan, along with his brother and screenwriter Jonathan, are attuned to how scientific theory and discovery open new possibilities for story structure and mythic storytelling. In fact, the term “wormhole” in space comes from ... more >
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INTERSTELLAR
Curiously fulfilling
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain
Directed by Christopher Nolan
The Wolf of Wall Street
"The year I turned 26 I made 49 million dollars"
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Got to give it to Martin Scorsese’s distributor for their great sense of timing: the consumerist orgy that is the holiday season is an apt backdrop for the release of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Also, if you think you've already placed your Oscar bets, you may want to think again. “Wolf” is quite the juicy offering this end-of-year in theaters. Budget cuts? Unemployment blues? Who in their right ... more >
The Paperboy
What happens in Florida ...
Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman
Directed by Lee Daniels
Nicole Kidman pees on Zac Efron to subdue a jellyfish sting in “The Paperboy” and you wish she would do the same thing to subdue perverted, sensationalistic writer-director Lee Daniels (“Precious”). What a load of pointless drivel this all turns out to be. Efron stars as Jack, a college dropout living in the backwater Florida town of Moat County in 1969, who spends much of his lazy life either ... more >
Magic Mike
It's raining men, hallelujah?
Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Helloooo abs! Pulling together all the muscle-bound actors not already in the new “Expendables” movie, director Steven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum (the later working from his own life experience) pay tribute to men in uniform, who then strip those uniforms off. Mike (Tatum) is a roofer by day, stripper by night, taking ne’er-do-well drifter Adam (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing, showing him the ... more >
Jeff Nichols in Cannes with “Mud”
Will America win the top honors a second year in a row?
As I type these lines there are rumors that “Mud,” by the American Jeff Nichols, may find its way to the top rungs of the competition prizes—some are even talking of a Palme D’Or upset. Matthew McConaughey, who came to the Croisette to present a film for the first time in his career, plays the Mud of the title, an enlightened vagabond living on a deserted island on the Mississipi river—his ... more >