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Licorice Pizza is an Ode to Young Love That Teaches Universal Lessons For Any Age
Coming of age stories can teach us a lot about human behavior and the latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson is no exception. Licorice Pizza takes us to the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s as Gary Valentine (Cooper…
Read More »Jockey Takes a Meditative Look at Life Transitions (Sundance Film Festival)
Realizing that one has arrived at a crossroads in their life where what existed and what they knew before is coming to close is a frightening prospect that we all just face one day. We take for granted…
Read More »Cyrano’s Performances and Dynamic Score Create a Treat for Fans of Musicals (Middleburg Film Festival)
In late 2019, Erica Schmidt wrote and directed an Off Broadway adaptation of Cyrano that starred her husband, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage. After its successful run, the musical has been brought to the big screen by…
Read More »The Tragedy of Macbeth is a Masterpiece Adaptation That Melds Theatre and Stage
Adaptations of the works of William Shakespeare feel almost as old as the Bard of Avon himself at this point. Many a filmmaker has tried their hand at providing their own twist to his timeless stories and Joel…
Read More »Nightmare Alley is a Rich Visual Homage to Noir But Misses Del Toro’s Charm
Four years after his surprising Best Picture win at the Academy Awards for The Shape of Water, director Guillermo Del Toro returns to the big screen with a bit of a departure from his usual fare based in…
Read More »Red Rocket is a Black Comedy Entertaining Enough to Mask The Stench of Its Protagonist (Middleburg Film Festival)
In life, we run into people of all varieties. Some are nicer than others, some smarter than others, but everyone just wants their piece of the pie. In chasing success, some people take a path that’s more morally…
Read More »Aaron Sorkin Hits Stride as a Director with the Well Crafted Being The Ricardos
It’s best not to, but many films suffer the misfortune of being prejudged before anyone has ever seen one frame. Whether it’s preconceived notions about the director or performers, issues with the subject of the film, or brand…
Read More »West Side Story’s Technical Prowess and New Generation Talent Don’t Outweigh Its Overfamiliarity
Remaking art that the public loves is always a tall task, much less when the art being reimagined is universally hailed as a classic. If anyone is capable of tackling such a challenge, it would be legendary director…
Read More »House of Gucci’s Potential Compelling Family Saga of Greed Lost in its Camp
Tales of family strife and gamesmanship currently dominate the entertainment landscape from the just ended Game of Thrones HBO series to Ozark to Succession to Yellowstone. Audiences love to see stories about how greed and business dealings affect…
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A Hero Masterfully Paints a Frustratingly True to Life Portrait of a Cynical World (Middleburg Film Festival)
Societal distrust feels as though it’s as high as it’s ever been. People analyze their neighbors in bad faith, believing the worst of them and their intentions while social media and the fourth estate itself follow suit, looking…
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