The very real and tumultuous political climate in Iran is explored through the eyes of a fictional family in “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” writer-director Mohammad Rasoulof’s daring drama that slowly…
In modern literature there are few figures like William S. Burroughs. He was a major talent defined by his place in the Beat movement and his tragic image as a man wrecked by…
Prolific playwright August Wilson was one of the most ingenious storytellers. The cinematic adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Piano Lesson,” the fifth play in Wilson’s cycle surrounding Pittsburgh, uses horror as…
Like the Roman emperors, Ridley Scott surely made “Gladiator II” only because he could. It has been 24 years since the massive success of his original “Gladiator,” which was a box office…
A good villain is never born. They are made. The great appeal of “Wicked” is how it takes a classic villain from our collective memories and genuinely humanizes her. As a musical,…
One of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age was its least likely, and most critical, known for bashing the phoniness of celebrity and the film industry’s most egregious creative offenses. The best…
Even Santa Claus has been unsafe from the odd trends dominating franchises and corporate attempts at establishing brand “universes.” Consider “Red One,” an expensive, jacked up production that seems to believe Christmas…
Here is one of those wild cinematic gestures that almost forces the viewer to either love it or hate it. Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” nearly defies description. It’s an opera about modern…