I’m either the best or the worst person to review the latest adaptation of Little Women. I’ve not seen any of the previous seven adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age family saga — not even the George Cukor; heresy, I know — nor have I read the book. Which is to say that you won’t find any gripes regarding the latest iteration’s fealty to the source, or, … [Read more...]
‘The Post’: Poignant, powerful and timely
Journalism movies have me at hello, especially the period pieces. The staccato clack of typewriter keys, the clangor of printing presses, the smoky newsrooms, the barking declarations of crusty editors with their feet on their desks and their ties askew. From His Girl Friday to Zodiac, Park Row to All the President’s Men, show me a shoe-leather reporter on a hot deadline, and … [Read more...]
‘La La Land’ ties record for most Oscar nominations
When the movie musical La La Land went seven for seven earlier this month at the Golden Globes, naysayers predicted the sweep would result in a backlash. Well, not exactly. This morning, the Damien Chazelle-directed contemporary song-and-dance romance received 14 Oscar nominations, tying the all-time record high held by Titanic and All About Eve. The Los Angeles-based … [Read more...]
When she was bad: Frears’ sweet, pointed ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’
If the cinema has Ed Wood and his legions of B-movie acolytes, the operatic canon has Florence Foster Jenkins — a cultural figure beloved because of her lack of talent, not despite it. The New York City arts doyenne turned amateur soprano is arguably the strangest footnote in music history. In the early ’40s, Jenkins warbled off-key coloratura at select private performances … [Read more...]