Subscribe to be the first to read about my favorite flicks. Sign up today!
A tender science-fiction drama about a household robot who begins to develop human emotions, Bicentennial Man is far sweeter and more profound than I expected. Robin Williams had an incredible career in comedy, but his more serious roles are my favorites. As husband Chris Nielsen in What Dreams May Come, he tugged at our hearts,…
Based on the childhood of food writer Nigel Slater, Toast is an intimate coming-of-age story focused on the bittersweet and delicious moments with his parents and challenging stepmother. My first introduction to Freddie Highmore was in the 2001 miniseries The Mists Of Avalon. Once an adorable and tiny King Arthur, he has grown up on…
A psychological thriller about a woman traveling alone who happens upon what seems like a crime, Dead Of Winter is a slow trudge through the cold, thawing only at the end. I think Emma Thompson is fantastic. With a catalogue of films that range from Peter’s Friends to Love Actually to The Children Act, she…
A dazzling fever dream, Moulin Rouge!, about a poor writer who falls in love with a courtesan in France, is full of amazing music, colors, and style. I watched this movie when it first came out in theaters in 2001, but I only saw it that once. Then, when a version of Moulin Rouge! got…
A film that centers on three different stories spanning thousands of years, In The Blink Of An Eye makes you think about existence and community, but is lacking in the emotional depth department. I have seen a LOT of bad movies, so when I first glanced at the reviews for this (which are not great),…
A quiet film about an older man who decides to walk across England to save his friend in hospice, The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry encourages you to think about the small things. It is always fun for me when I start a movie and realize that I’m with friends. Jim Broadbent, who I have…
A stylistic Tarantino film about an actor and his stunt double in the 1960s, Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood will make you look at Tinseltown in a whole new way. The first Quentin Tarantino film I ever saw was Pulp Fiction. I watched it in the movie theater and promptly returned for a second…
A brooding period drama about a man who believes his cousin’s wife committed murder, but meets and falls in love with her, My Cousin Rachel feels muted and flat. I have mentioned this before, but not every book should be turned into a film. The mediums are very different, and while you can describe every…
A fictionalized retelling of a famous historical life, Henry VIII and His Six Wives does an excellent job of covering each of Henry’s relationships while giving you a little bit of insight into each wife. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. If you are at all familiar with the Broadway show SIX, the television show…
Filled with theatricality, Blue Moon, about lyricist Lorenz Hart on the night former partner Richard Rodgers opens Oklahoma! with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, is like watching a play in three acts. I was raised on the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein. If The King And I wasn’t playing, Carousel was on. If it was too silent…
A subtle and emotionally layered film about an absent film director father and his estranged daughters, Sentimental Value is extraordinarily styled and deeply personal. When I notice that Stellan Skarsgård is in a film, I am immediately interested. Whether it’s Good Will Hunting, Mamma Mia!, or Angels & Demons, he is an actor who leaves…
A modern Cyrano story where a sweet but inarticulate teen asks a quiet nerd to help him write letters to the girl he loves, The Half Of It is a cute YA watch. Whether you’ve read the 1897 play of Cyrano de Bergerac or not, the story is a familiar one. A man is in…
