Posts tagged Greta Gerwig
MOVIE REVIEW: Barbie

Speaking of colors and style, I’ll leave you with this little tidbit of snazzy advice from the movie that mixes with the philosophical slant of Barbie itself. Pink goes with everything. Taking that further into color psychology, pink is said to be a contradictory color associated with innocence, calmness, sensitivity, and optimism as much as it’s the standard bearer for femininity. Those listed qualities are the fluttering feelings of Barbie worn with pride, and that’s a radiantly beautiful thing.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Little Women

The endearing brilliance of Little Women is earned in those quaint sways and movements as much as, if not more than, it is by its crests of high drama. With masterful leadership and bold thematic choices applied to well-worn ideals, Greta Gerwig continuously captures an uncanny vibrancy out of a literary setting that otherwise would be frozen in stagnant despair. Every fiber and morsel of this movie swells with this sense of spirit to embed radiance in resiliency.

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COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry in 2018

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too.  Annually, including this seventh edition, this is my absolute favorite editorial to write every year.  I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change.  You would hope Hollywood would learn from those lessons going forward.  Alas, here we go again!  Enjoy!

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MOVIE REVIEW: Lady Bird

In her solo feature directorial debut, Greta Gerwig has stepped in and pushed this cinematic species tremendously forward with the dramedy Lady Bird.  The film destroys any notion of the “manic pixie dream girl” fakery.  Lady Bird is a cornucopia woven with striking candor and filled with delightful oxymorons artfully composed to challenge taboos and stereotypes. Let’s give each oxymoron a life lesson and a paragraph or two along the way.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Jackie

Mesmerizing describes the film as a whole and its incomparable lead performance from Academy Award winner Natalie Portman playing First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the immediate hours and days following her husband's 1963 assassination.  Far from a biopic and more of a psychological examination, Portman and Larrain sear the screen with emotion and imagery that is as captivating as it is difficult.  It is astonishing that it takes a foreign director to create the most empowering portrait of American history put to film in years.

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VIDEO: Post-film reactions to "Wiener-Dog"

Critics of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle, and a special guest, take off the leash and dish out the kibble on Todd Solondz's dark comedy "Wiener-Dog."  Hear from Gabrielle Bondi, Scott Pfeiffer, Leo and Christina Brady, special guest Brian Thompson, myself, Jim Alexander, and Emmanuel Noisette talking on the film. Enjoy!

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MOVIE REVIEW: Wiener-Dog

Commonly, there are only two general reactions to witnessing an elaborate intentional joke of dark comedy.  You either admire the effort to relish the measured malice or you are appalled and disconnected to the sense of humor being exploited.  There will be very little gray area between those reactions for Todd Solondz’s “Wiener-Dog.”  Make no mistake.  For lack of a better term, this is a filmmaker being an asshole on purpose because he can and he doesn’t care.  You will either champion or loathe that supposed brilliance and brashness.  Buyer beware, honest and true dog lovers need to stay far away from this film.

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