It’s easy to grumble that, since the ascension of streaming, everything is content now. Art-house films, blockbusters, documentaries, limited series, multi-season dramas, standup specials, even news broadcasts — they’re all items in a queue, presented for your enjoyment or consigned to oblivion on the caprices of an algorithm. Some of them take longer than others to finish, and … [Read more...]
Starry ‘The Truth’ too insular to make deep impact
To note that The Truth is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s starriest movie to date is to understate. While the Japanese director’s previous 13 films have been cast with actors unfamiliar to the non-cinephile masses, and often earn little more than festival and art-house exhibition, his latest has all the ingredients for broader appeal and a wide theatrical opening — something it was poised … [Read more...]
‘Juliet, Naked’ a charmer despite nods to rom-com formula
The comma separating the two words of Juliet, Naked is flush with sensual possibility, but it’s the first joke in this affable, niche-y romantic comedy. The title is more audiophilic than erotic: What’s being stripped down isn’t Juliet the person but Juliet the fictional album by a fictional singer-songwriter named Tucker Crowe. Kind of like the Beatles’ Phil Spector-less Let … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 25-26
Art: The Palm Beach Photographic Centre in downtown West Palm Beach feels more like an office than an art gallery, but there’s almost always something worth seeing in its free shows. Opening today is the 22nd annual Members’ Show, which features the work of no less than 70 photographers, curated by Scott McKiernan, who heads the Zuma press agency. As with most photographic … [Read more...]
Faith of the father, test of our time: Schrader’s powerful ‘First Reformed’
The setting for much of Paul Schrader’s First Reformed is a white Dutch Colonial church, simple and sturdy and indistinguishable from the thousands of similar structures that punctuate America’s hills and hollers, its exurbs and suburbs. The chapel, First Reformed in upstate New York, is situated near Abundant Life, a pyrotechnic megachurch with live-streamed sermons and … [Read more...]