Red Sparrow: Broken Wing
Most Hollywood movies these days tiptoe around international affairs, so careful are they to avoid offending foreign countries whose audiences might buy tickets. It’s...
Black Panther: It’s Good to Be King
Though it may be obvious, one point about Black Panther can’t be overstated: This Marvel Comics movie is the first time a black filmmaker...
Odds and Ends
I’m not completely done with the movies of 2017 — the ogres over at Sony Pictures Classics didn’t let me see Loveless and A...
Hostiles: Savage Land
Every time I look at Scott Cooper’s career, it gets smaller. The actor-turned-filmmaker made a promising directing debut back in 2009 with his country-music...
Phantom Thread: Mr. Woodcock
I’m usually skeptical of artists announcing their retirement when they’re neither terminally ill nor really old. (See: Soderbergh, Steven and Miyazaki, Hayao.) However, I’m...
Call Me by Your Name: A Summer Place
The exquisite Call Me by Your Name was originally supposed to be directed by James Ivory, the gay American filmmaker who adapted the script...
I, Tonya: Skatewreck
As a teenager, I came across a glowing Sports Illustrated profile of Tonya Harding during the run-up to the 1992 Winter Olympics. Reading the...
The Post: My God, the Fun!
Steven Spielberg's The Post isn’t a great movie, but it is a timely one, and sometimes that’s even better. As we watch its characters...
The Best Documentaries of 2017
The types of documentaries that tend to win awards and appear on lists like this one are films that tackle Big Issues: wars, the...
Molly’s Game: Hand in My Pocket
The most surprising thing about Aaron Sorkin’s directing debut, Molly’s Game, is that it’s about a woman. Sorkin is one of Hollywood’s most famous...
