By John H. Foote (*****) Now in theatres Couple quick reminders. Given it has been more than a decade since Avatar (2009), here is a very brief refresher. Pandora is a planet of great exotic beauty inhabited by nine-foot tall, blue creatures called the Na’vi who do not appreciate man on their home. Man is…
By John H. Foote (****) Streaming on Apple TV Despite the slap heard around the globe, despite the absolute humiliation he brought to Chris Rock, the Academy, the family of Richard Williams, and himself, Will Smith has always been a fine actor, and it was ridiculous to assume he would never be back in the…
By John H. Foote (***) on Apple Streaming The reasons to see Causeway are the performances which are remarkable. Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence, who won her Oscar 10 years ago now (seems like a century), gives the finest screen performance of her career, no mean feat because the lady has been damned fine in…
By John H. Foote (****) In theatres All the President’s Men (1976) might still reign as the preeminent film about investigative reporting ever made, possessed of an urgency in exploring what would lead to the unseating of a President. The film remains an extraordinary study of reporting before the internet, when research happened in libraries…
By John H. Foote (***) On Netflix It has been nearly 100 years since the first feature film version of All Quiet on the Western Front came to cinema and won the Academy Award as Best Picture. A superb early piece of filmmaking, before directors had really mastered sound and score, it remains filled with…
By John H. Foote Frankly I cannot remember when the field of nominees for Best Actor was so slim. 1964? It might be that long ago that the Academy struggled to find five worthy performances to be nominated for an Oscar. Usually, the Best Actor category is filled to the brim and could easily have…
By John H. Foote (*) In theatres Nick Maylor loved the Marvel Universe and predicted a day after seeing Black Panther (2019) that the film would be nominated for Best Picture, and of course, it was. This review is for Nick, and I wish I liked the film more than I did, my son. Reviewing…
By John H. Foote (****) In theatres Over the course of his near magical career Steven Spielberg has given us 11 Best Picture nominees, been nominated for Best Director eight times, winning twice, and been nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award more times than any other director in history. It seems that his…
By John H. Foote (***) Jessica Chastain has, in the last 10 years, solidified her status as one of the greatest American actresses in film, right behind Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett in terms of stature. Fresh from an Academy Award win for Best Actress in The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), truth be told…
By John H. Foote (*) In theatres What happened? Such a marvelous cast, combined with a solid director, and this is what happens? Ouch. It has bomb written all over it and, if I am not mistaken, just smells bad. After some great films such as Three Kings (1999), The Fighter (2010), Silver Linings Playbook…