Movies

The anticipation of seeing “Public Enemies” was almost overwhelming. The idea of my big-screen favorite Johnny Depp playing John Dillinger, the real-life “Gentleman Bandit” bank robber of the Great Depression, was an exciting conceit, for I adore crime thrillers; and while Johnny’s collaborations with director Tim Burton are my particular favorites, having “Heat” director Michael Mann at the helm of “Public Enemies” boded well. Read More »

It’s taken a very long time to come around to director Kathryn Bigelow’s work. My hate relationship with her started way back in 1989, when my excitement with the idea of a female director creating a hard-edged cop thriller with a female protagonist – “Blue Steel,” with Jamie Lee Curtis in the leading role – quickly devolved into disgust. Read More »

It has taken Jennifer Lynch more than fifteen years to follow up her controversial directing debut “Boxing Helena”; and while “Surveillance” is not quite as perverse as her first film, it is still one sick and twisted little thriller. Read More »

Unless you are an eight-year-old boy who doesn’t know any better, paying to go to the movies to see “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” will make you wish you had stayed at home and saved your money. Michael Bay’s sequel to his wildly successful “Transformers” original is loud, bombastic, ridiculous, and at moments completely incomprehensible. Read More »

If a few movies already screened for press types are any indication, the Los Angeles Film Festival – which began its 15th year on June 18 with Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Jeff Daniels heading an all-star cast in “Paper Man” – promises another memorable celebration of worldwide cinema. Read More »