E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg’s suburban fairy tale for kids who think they are too hip to believe in fairies, is as glorious as ever decades after its debut. Henry Thomas is Elliot, an emotionally bruised kid suffering under his parents’ separation who finds another lonely, lost soul, a benevolent alien left behind when […]
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg’s suburban fairy tale for kids who think they are too hip to believe in fairies, turns 35 with a new E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 35th Anniversary Limited Edition (Universal) plus additional Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD editions. Henry Thomas is Elliot, an emotionally bruised kid suffering under his parents’ […]
Good Kill (2015) tackles writer / director Andrew Niccol’s favorite theme: the intersection of technology and humanity. His problem is that his art is rarely as interesting as his ideas. The Truman Show works because Peter Weir is very good with the human equation, and Gattaca, to date, is Niccol’s most successful film, in part […]
Prohibition (2011), Ken Burns’ portrait of “the Noble Experiment” turned American disaster, follows Burns’s trademark approach to American history by putting big events into perspective through the personal stories of both significant historical figures and the everyday citizens. That’s particularly effective in the story of prohibition, which traditionally is presented in terms of the activism […]
“I do not see myself as a footnote to someone else’s life,” states an aged but still sharp and tough Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman) in Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012). Neither does this colorful biopic, an HBO original movie about their passionate and tumultuous relationship (both romantic and professional), directed by Philip Kaufman, a filmmaker fascinated […]
