By John H. Foote (****) To begin, let me get the hornets’ nest out of the way. I do not believe a word of the bile that has spewed from the mouth and mind of Mia Farrow for the last 25 years about Woody Allen supposedly assaulting his daughter, the now grow Dylan. Understand I…
By John H. Foote (****) Dressed in a steely grey suit, his hair salt and pepper grey, Tom Cruise reminded me of a sleek barracuda or shark in this fine film from director Michael Mann, his character a lethal predator stalking the Los Angeles night for his victims. In one of his finest performances, Cruise…
By Marie-Renee Goulet These past few months have been challenging. In light of the most recent protests in support of Black Lives Matter, I’d like to bring attention to Netflix’s Original Documentary 13th, titled after the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Running at only 1h and 40m, it is compelling and concise. You…
By John H. Foote (****) For two agonizing hours we experience the breakdown of a marriage, though through broken narrative, we also see what drew the two together. Blue Valentine, a difficult film from director Derek Cianfrance, explores with unflinching honesty the beginning and end of a relationship between two young people with a child.…
By John H. Foote (****) “…I am your father.” You could have heard a pin drop. The chewing of popcorn ceased, there was a collective audible gasp and the packed cinema went deathly silent with the intake of breath. With those four mind-altering words Darth Vader turned the Star Wars narrative on its ear, suddenly making…
By John H. Foote (***) Nancy Dowd would spend months on the road with minor hockey teams, soaking in the atmosphere of life waiting for the call to “the show” – the big league, the NHL – though most of the players are resigned to being minor league lifers. Her script for Slap Shot was…
By Marie-Renee Goulet **** This film is inspired by the survivors’ testimonies of the tragedy that took place on December 6, 1989. Out of respect for the victims and their families, all the characters are fictional. From all accounts, the events are accurate in their chronology and depictions. The film was shot simultaneously in both…
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…