As soon as Emanuel Ax stepped onto the Zellerbach Hall stage, the anxiously chattering crowd quieted down, took their seats and burst into boisterous applause. The concert hall was filled to the brim for the world-renowned Polish pianist on Nov. 13, a testament to the artist’s acclaim. Even before the Read More…
It’s just pure coincidence that Robert Zemeckis’s last two live-action films have a plane-crash at the core of their stories. In “Cast Away” (2000), FedEx employee Chuck Noland’s life takes a harrowing turn after a plane crash strands him on an unpopulated island. In “Flight” (2012), airline pilot Whip Whitaker Read More…
It’s always exciting to hear when a nonwhite actor is offered a role more substantial than the thankless supporting parts actors of color are usually saddled with. Even more exciting is when filmmakers take a chance on an unknown face to carry an entire film. The sad truth is that Read More…
“Smashed” is one of those movies that would sink right into a pile of the year’s misfires if it weren’t for a powerhouse lead performance anchoring it all the way through. The movie follows Kate, a jovial drinker and first-grade teacher, through her exacerbating alcoholism and her struggle to admit Read More…
Year-round, a grim, cold, bleached-out rain finds the holes in the roof of the English farmhouse called Wuthering Heights. Its echoes are so loud and menacing that it almost silences the furtive characters that walk the moors of this latest adaptation of the famous 1847 novel. These characters trudge the Read More…
I wrap up my Oscar coverage with Best Picture. I think it’s more open than people think, and I think “Argo” is more vulnerable than its award record suggests. I might be right, I might be wrong, but that’s the fun thing about predicting awards, isn’t it? No one really Read More…
American fans of the hit British series “The Inbetweeners” can finally rejoice. The movie version opens in limited release stateside this weekend after its UK release more than a year ago. The British comedy “The Inbetweeners” is one of those movies that I walk into totally discarding the customary cinematic Read More…
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d start my weekly blog with giving you my personal list of the five greatest romantic comedies. If you still have no plans, I invite you to sit down with your special someone, share a bucket of popcorn, and pop any one of these Read More…
I finish off covering the acting categories with not just my favorite lineup this season, but one of my favorite acting lineups the Academy has ever compiled — period. Best Actor almost always languishes with the Oscars mostly because voters are so adamant about only honoring respected, well-established older actors. Read More…
The clock tics and tocs as the weeks rapidly wind down to the red carpet. This week we discuss Best Actress, perhaps the most exciting (and in many ways difficult to predict) race of the four acting categories. Who’s nominated? Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty” Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” Read More…
