HollywoodandFine.com I am a big fan of Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer. The Norwegian films of his that have made it to American screens – “Kitchen Stories,” “O’Horten” and now “1001 Grams” – reveal a miniaturist dealing in microcosms that reveal the world. In the case of “1001 Grams,” it is …
HollywoodandFine.com Here are some of the names that came to mind as I watched “Mad Max: Fury Road”: Federico Fellini. David Lynch. Pieter Bruegel. Ralph Steadman. Stanley Kubrick. There are images that bring each of those artists to mind, whether for a moment or an extended sequence. At times it gets …
HollywoodandFine.com Be warned. John Maclean’s directorial debut, “Slow West,” practices truth in advertising. But “slow” seems harsh as an adjective for this compelling film. “Patient” would be a more apt description; “studied” or “measured” would be two more. Because, in presenting this Scotsman’s gloss on a tale of America’s Old …
HollywoodandFine.com As squirm comedies go, “The D Train” is a breed apart, a film that puts new spin on the bromance. The bros in question are Dan Landsman (Jack Black) and Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), who haven’t seen each other since high school. Now Dan is on the high-school reunion …
HollywoodandFine.com These feel like cinematic end times – not in terms of Hollywood movies (that horse is already out of the barn), but in the pack-mentality, “hey, it’s good enough” approach of critics to the colossus that bestrides summer movies, otherwise known as the Marvel Universe. I speak specifically of …
HollywoodandFine.com “Ex Machina” is both tastily minimal and frustratingly simplistic. Alex Garland’s directing debut (he wrote “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine”) is, in essence, a three-hander about three people in a house. OK, a high-tech mansion, but you get the point. Yet, after tantalizing us with increasingly imaginative developments and …
HollywoodandFine.com Certainly the pedigree of “Child 44” makes it seem promising. Directed by Daniel Espinosa (“Safe House”) from a script by Richard Price, it features a sturdy, heavily British international cast led by Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent Cassel and Noomi Rapace. But the timing of the release …
HollywoodandFine.com The directing debut of actor Chris Messina, “Alex of Venice” is as notable for what it doesn’t do as for what it does. This is the story of a married parent suddenly forced to realign priorities when their spouse walks out. Think “Kramer vs. Kramer” – and then make …
HollywoodandFine.com “True Story” is not a bad movie; indeed, it’s a creepy little tale that has moments that will unnerve you. But the limitations of its script and of Jonah Hill’s performance in the central role keep it from transcending its shortcomings. Based on actual events, “True Story” feels like …
HollywoodandFine.com Does it matter that “Woman in Gold,” Simon Curtis’ moving drama about a woman seeking the return of art the Nazis stole from her family 50 years earlier, seems stenciled from a familiar template? If the plot of this film – with its tale of a young professional man …