A Strong Claire Foy Gets Stuck As “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”
In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Claire Foy picks up the mantle from Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara in rendering the role of Lisbeth Salander, Stieg Larsson’s Swedish punk heroine from his Millennium Trilogy. It’s a million miles from her turn as Queen Elizabeth on The Crown, and she runs with the chance to […]
“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” Will Charm Kids More Than Adults
The new Disney film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is many things: a children’s adventure story, an eye-popping spectacle, and a 109-minute endorsement of animated mice. (CGI rodents, actually. Mickey’s heirs?) What it isn’t, is the Nutcracker story in any traditional sense. Here, the famous ballet and score are almost treated as afterthoughts. Instead, this […]
Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” Remake Scares But Mostly Shows Off
Bold is the person who attempts a remake of a classic horror film as distinctive as Dario Argento’s Suspiria. The classic 1977 horror movie about a German dance school for girls doubling as a coven of witches has the Italian filmmaker’s definitive fingerprints all over it. So, why did director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, […]
“The Hate U Give” Mixes Character and Politics for a Potent Punch
The Hate U Give may be a YA adaptation but its story is bigger and weightier than most aimed at teens. This is a brilliantly nuanced film that should appeal to adults as well as younger audiences with its rich characters and complex emotions. It also makes a number of bold statements concerning race, sex, […]
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Probes the Issues of Art and Acceptance
Rare is a film’s protagonist as unpleasant as Lee Israel is in Can You Ever Forgive Me? In the new movie, based on her 2008 memoir, she’s not only a bitter, down-on-her-luck writer, but she’s also an alcoholic, a slob, and rash in action and temperament. Despite authoring numerous magazine articles and three well-received celebrity […]
