By John H. Foote (*) What the hell is a Jellicle cat? I have no clue. I am sure not even the director of this film knows., Tom Hooper directed the superb HBO miniseries John Adams (2008) which led to his being handpicked to direct The King’s Speech (2010) which won him an Academy Award…
By John H. Foote THE 25 WORST FILMS OF THE DECADE It struck me that while composing this list of the very worst of the decade that I included films from actors such as Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Kristen Bell, Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds, John Travolta, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise,…
By John H. Foote Let me state before I venture into this revisit review, that my colleague Nick Maylor believes this story the greatest in the history of literature, created by the master storyteller Charles Dickens. It is a tough argument because I too think it is among the finest stories ever told. At its…
By John H. Foote (****) Did I ever think I would discuss Adam Sandler in the same sentence as the Academy Award? Did I ever think I would be comparing Sandler’s jittery, electrifying performance to the great seventies work of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro? Straight up, no I did not. Understand it is…
By John H. Foote (***) To begin, in this film in which Eastwood once again explores an underdog railing against authority, the nearly ninety-year-old two-time Oscar-winning Best Director has made a very good film, but not one that will be ever thought of as being among his greatest. That is not a putdown, just a…
By John H. Foote 2019 has been the year of Scarlett Johansson. Sure her character Black Widow sacrificed herself in Avengers: Endgame (2019) but that was just the beginning. She has given her two finest performances this year, one a supporting role, the other a lead and the finest work of her career. Next year…
By John H. Foote The SAG nominees announced this morning provided a few surprises with who was snubbed and included. On the outside looking in are Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, Saoirse Ronan in Little Women and Robert De Niro in The Irishman. Up for Best Supporting Actress are Scarlett Johansson in Jo Jo Rabbit,…
By John H. Foote Why all the screaming that no female directors were among the nominees for Best Director at the Golden Globes this year? Frankly, their films were good, but not good enough. When Penny Marshall was overlooked for a Best Director nomination in 1990 for her powerful medical film Awakenings, no one said…
By John H. Foote For the second consecutive year, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFC) honoured a film not in English as their Best Film of the year. Parasite, an acclaimed film since winning the top prize at Cannes last May, took Best Picture honours as well as Best Director for Bong Joon Ho.…
By John H. Foote (****) The greatest films of divorce are often demanding, difficult films that have the courage to ask the audience not to take a side. Yet as great as An Unmarried Woman (1978), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Shoot the Moon (1982) are superb films, a side is usually taken, we are…