By John H. Foote (****) In Theatres and Steaming on Netflix Black comedy has always been the best of the sub-genres of comedy for me. Taking a subject that is in no way funny (murder, nuclear explosions, divorce, a drunken Santa and now a meteor speeding towards earth) has always tickled my funny bone. My…
THE YEAR’S BEST MOVIES By John H. Foote Movies returned with a thundering triumph this year, exploding back on big screens. As we all slowly, hopefully, leave our basements and adjust our eyes to daylight, movie making and theatres are beginning to make a comeback, inching their way back to where once they ruled. Nothing…
By John H. Foote (**) Streaming on Netflix The American western has always been my favorite film genre. There is undeniable depth to the deceptive simplicity of westerns if you look for it. Sadly, not everyone does. They picture cowboys and Indians, bad guy wearing a black hat, good guy wearing white, and the marshal…
By John H. Foote (****) In theatres Let’s get right to it — it is a knockout, a masterpiece, brilliant on every level. And to the question everyone will ask: it is equal to the original? In fact, I think it’s greater. Steven Spielberg, finally creating his musical dream, has made an angrier, edgier, more…
By Alan Hurst Cards on the table: I’ve been a major fan of singer Anne Murray since she released “You Needed Me” in 1978. I think I knew about “Snowbird” (1970), “Danny’s Song” (1973), “Love Song” (1974) and her cover of the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me” (1974), as well as her very 1970’s Canadian…
Directed by Ridley Scott (***) Now in theatres There is a scene in House of Gucci where we first see Lady Gaga as Patrizia, the character who will later marry Maurizio Gucci, and then years later, have him killed by two hitmen. She enters her father’s trucking depot wearing high heels and a skirt that…
By Geoff Wertheim (**) In theatres In recent years, the trend for franchises to refresh themselves is to have the characters constantly remark and reflect how awesome the original was, while pretty much recreating the original. They’re films made for the fans, by fans. We saw this with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World,…
By John H. Foote (****) Streaming on Netflix Had Spielberg’ Schindler’s List not opened in the final months of 1993, I am absolutely confident that Jane Campion and The Piano would have taken Best Picture and Best Director Awards, making Campion the first woman to ever win the Academy Award. As it played out, Spielberg…
By John H. Foote (***) Streaming on Netflix Beyond being an exciting new musical directed by the gifted Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton, this new film announces the arrival of Andrew Garfield to the pantheon of great American actors. Garfield is at his best to date here, playing Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent. In…
By John H. Foote (***) Streaming on Netflix Red Notice will not be nominated for any major Academy Awards, but still I had a hell of a good time watching the film. The three stars do what they do best. Dwayne Johnson is spectacular as an FBI agent travelling the world in hot pursuit of…