Before the shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, my life and free time were largely consumed by viewing and covering the latest theater openings and film releases. So when I would hear glowing reactions to long-form dramatic television series, I would make mental note of them, wondering when in the world I would ever have time to catch up and view them. … [Read more...]
Misguided direction makes ‘The Dinner’ none too edible
The structure of Oren Moverman’s The Dinner is, appropriately enough, prandial. It begins, roughly, with an aperitif, and concludes shortly after a digestif at an uber-luxurious prix fixe restaurant, the sort of dimly lit culinary castle where a wine is selected for each course, where the waiters explain the provenance of the garnish, and where the bill costs as much as an … [Read more...]
‘Nocturnal Animals’: Thriller hemmed in by rich, airless bubble
In the best scene in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, a holiday drive on a sleepy West Texas thoroughfare becomes an auto-terrorist nightmare straight out of Spielberg’s Duel. When three accelerator-revving rednecks force suburban husband Tony Hastings (Jake Gyllenhaal), his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and their daughter India (Ellie Bamber) off the road in the coffin-black night, it … [Read more...]