By John H. Foote (****) One of the great recent American films, and one of Steven Spielberg’s finest achievements, Lincoln leaves you with the belief you have spent time with the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. As portrayed by the three-time Academy Award winning Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who spent a full…
By John H. Foote (***) Let me begin by stating that the extraordinary iconic title song of this film, a huge part of the very identity of New York City was ignored as a nominee for Best Song. So too were any of the songs from Saturday Night Fever (1977) that same year, but ignoring…
By Marie-Renee Goulet (***) I always look forward to the worlds Terry Gilliam creates for each of his films. Many actors over the years have said that they sign on to his projects to get the “Terry Gilliam experience.” In The Fisher King, New York City takes on a surreal, dark, sometimes medieval personality. Although…
By John H. Foote (****) The first thing I wanted after seeing this astonishing film about addiction was a shower. How I wanted that hot steamy water to wash away the horrors I had just witnessed on the screen in this harrowing, ultra realistic film about addictions, not just to drugs, there are so many…
By John H. Foote When he exploded, and it was an explosion of seismic proportions, onto screens in the seventies he was instantly the biggest star on the planet. Overnight. Oscar nominated for his first leading role in Saturday Night Fever (1977), Travolta was both actor, blazing with talent, and movie star, burning bright. Over…
By Marie-Renee Goulet The movie opens with an impromptu encounter between beautiful socialite Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson) and attorney Lawrence Selden (Eric Stoltz). Their attraction for one another is palpable, but Selden’s social status is at odds with Lily’s ambition: to marry money, a great deal of money. He does very well for himself, but…
By John H. Foote (****) Streaming on Netflix It took two viewings of this new film from Spike Lee for me to truly understand the power, perhaps because as a white man I will never understand the black experience and what it was to be black and fighting the war in Vietnam. History has shown…
By John H. Foote (*** ½) Revered as a filmmaker for almost his entire career, there is no debate as to the genius of Stanley Kubrick. Though he made just 11 films in the years spanning 1957 until his passing in 1999, at least four of them are among the 30 greatest films ever made.…
By John H. Foote (***) Director Brian De Palma earned his true breakthrough with this film, a rock and roll version of the famous Phantom of the Opera, filmed three times before this wild version, before the long running Broadway play and subsequent film. Cleverly merging the work with Faust, and The Picture of Dorian…
By John H. Foote (****) There are several love stories weaving their way through the narrative of this superb Civil War drama, each unique in its own right, each with a profound impact on the characters and the story. Directed by Academy Award winning director Anthony Minghella, who won his Oscar for the wildly overrated…