Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi The credits in Drive My Car take place over 40 minutes into the three hour movie, following a prologue about a man and his wife, until she dies suddenly, quietly. So suddenly, in fact, that it's like she simply vanished. Her absence looms large over the remainder of the film, particularly … Continue reading Drive My Car (2021)
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If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Directed by Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk certainly wears its heart on its sleeve. Barry Jenkins' follow up to the Oscar-winning Moonlight seems to pick up where that one left off, opening on two characters as if we've known them our whole lives. They are Tish (Kiki Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), childhood friends … Continue reading If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
A Star is Born (2018)
Directed by Bradley Cooper A Star is Born is a melodrama in which celebrity, it seems, is a zero sum game. The movie tracks the romance between a fading star musician, Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and an up and coming pop star, Ally (Lady Gaga). They meet by chance, in the ways Hollywood lovers do, … Continue reading A Star is Born (2018)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Directed by Mike Figgis We get right to the point with the romance between Ben and Sera (Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue) in Leaving Las Vegas. One is an alcoholic, and the other is a prostitute. They've both moved to Las Vegas following disappointing or unsustainable lives in Los Angeles. You get the sense that try as … Continue reading Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Darkest Hour (2017)
Directed by Joe Wright Darkest Hour tracks the first month after Winston Churchill has been appointed prime minister. He's a controversial figure, a politician maligned by both sides, and he has his hands full with imminent invasion of Hitler's German army. It's a pressure cooker of a movie, and it's a testament to director Joe … Continue reading Darkest Hour (2017)
I Draw on My Wall 