Every year brings at least one new coming-of-age story. My favorite from this year is The Way, Way Back. Plots about sexual awakening are perhaps rarer, and when they do appear, they usually focus on a male’s perspective. It’s a challenge to successfully combine the two types of films in a single experience and center […]
A New Jersey lothario finds that his real-life sexual encounters pale in comparison to his porn fantasies and looks to effect a change in Don Jon. Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a character who could have been taken right off the set of Jersey Shore. He’s all about presentation. He works out incessantly, hangs out […]
A trio of sex addicts work together to fight their challenging addiction in Thanks for Sharing. Sex addiction is a very misunderstood issue. There’s not even complete consensus on its validity, with many people believing it’s just an outlet for men to be able to excuse their bad behavior under the guise of a disease. […]
A bookish loner spends her life savings to experience a dream vacation where everything is like a Jane Austen novel in Austenland. Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) is the consummate Jane Austen fan. She has read her books countless times, knows the movies by heart and even has a life-size cutout of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Her fascination […]
A streetwise, charismatic teen unintentionally falls for a good-hearted, introverted girl who teaches him a thing or two about young love in The Spectacular Now. John Lennon‘s solo hit, “Beautiful Boy,” includes the lyric, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Those words perfectly encapsulate the overriding theme of the latest romantic […]
A nerdy high school senior decides to apply her ample scholastic skills to a new project — becoming sexually savvy before heading off to college in The To Do List. Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) is everything most parents dream about. She’s smart, dedicated, problem-free and a virgin. She’s even earned the distinction of class valedictorian. What’s […]
William Shakespeare‘s classic comedic play is reimagined by Joss Whedon in the latest version of Much Ado About Nothing. This famous tale has been the inspiration for countless romantic comedies over the years while the main play itself was adapted for the screen in 1993 by Kenneth Branagh. This time around, Joss Whedon of Buffy […]
I love movies that take me someplace that I will never go or introduce a lifestyle that is markedly foreign because I can take that journey from the comfort of a theater seat. Fill the Void is that type of movie because it sets things firmly in an ultra-Orthodox community in Tel Aviv for a […]
A young Hasidic Israeli girl has to balance her dreams and desires against the pressures of her family and faith in Fill the Void. This is the film that represented the country at this year’s Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film — though it didn’t win. The film is written by Rama Burshtein, a native New York […]
Classic books don’t always translate well to classic movies. These adaptations seem to use the parts of the books that suit the filmmaker’s vision and throw away other elements that don’t, whether they’re important in the books or not. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is often regarded as “The Great American Novel.” Over […]
Tobey Maguire as young Nick Carroway leaves behind his midwest home for a shot at fame and fortune in 1920s New York City where he meets the most intriguing person of his life in The Great Gatsby. This is a film I’ve been looking forward to since the first previews appeared. This latest interpretation of the book comes to […]
Family members involved with crime go back much further in the movies than The Godfather. Conflicts between brothers go back even further than that if you take it all the way to Cain and Abel. These subjects are explored in detail in the poorly named My Brother the Devil. The glamour of easy money from […]