Zendaya is what elevates this talky, ambitious piece into something worth seeing. Because Zendaya is transcendent, handling a difficult role with ease and the camera with absolute star power.
Author Archive
Malcolm and Marie
February 2, 2021Mike Nichols: A Life
January 26, 2021
Awesome in scope and detail, Mark Harris’s remarkable biography is not just essential, but completely delicious reading for people who, like me, love theater, film and the people who make them.
The Little Things
January 26, 2021
It should have been so much more fun to watch three terrific actors, Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, combine forces. But too many holes and too little intensity makes the promised bonuses here just not add up.
One Night in Miami
January 14, 2021
Pretend It’s A City
January 6, 2021
It’s not the vaccine, but watching Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese talk about the world is (almost) everything I need right now.
The Midnight Sky
December 22, 2020
George Clooney’s ambitious misfire is well intended, but curiously cold and uninvolving. There’s an inherent problem here, one which could have offered up an artistic challenge, but somehow, Clooney just doesn’t meet it.
News of the World
December 21, 2020
Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass reteam to tell us news of a tumultuous American post Civil War world that echoes in today’s. While their efforts are visibly impressive, this historical warning may fall on deaf ears.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
December 17, 2020
This adaptation of the August Wilson drama is revelatory, beautifully staged as well as acted and almost perfect. Yes, I said almost.
The Prom
December 10, 2020
Look. We’re all a bunch of frayed nerves and so, if you find a little merriment in this Ryan Murphy (Trademark) overstuffing, go. Have a good time. Or at least as good a time as you can with this insistently cheerful musical adaptation.
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