Israeli-American Joseph Cedar wrote and directed one of my favorite movies, the Oscar-nominated Beaufort, and I am a fan of his film “Footnote” as well. Both are in Hebrew. So it was a great pleasure to talk to him about his first English language film, “Norman,” starring Richard Gere and Steve Buscemi. Gere plays the …

Continue reading “Interview: Director Joseph Cedar on “Norman””

If you like behind-the-scenes-of-the-hits films like “20 Feet from Stardom,” “Muscle Shoals,” and “The Wrecking Crew,” you will enjoy “BANG! The Bert Berns Story.” Like “Wrecking Crew,” this is a love letter from a son to his father. You have not heard the name Bert Berns, but you have heard — and I am sure, …

Continue reading “New Documentary: BANG! The Bert Berns Story”

On Vulture, Kyle Buchanan has a fascinating column about three directors who took time off between blockbusters to make remarkably similar small budget films about gifted kids and their single parents. It is well worth reading in full. Take “Gifted,” this week’s dramedy about a precocious child and the overwhelmed uncle (Chris Evans) who serves …

Continue reading “Why Do Mega-Budget Movie Directors Make Small Films About Kids?”

Two films open this week that could be described as old-school, grand epics like those from the classic era of Hollywood. Both are based on true stories. “The Lost City of Z” (with Z pronounced “Zed,” as the British do), is based on the life of dashing explorer Percy Fawcett, who inspired many fictional characters, …

Continue reading “Opening This Week: “The Promise,” “The Lost City of Z” and “Born in China””

“Step” documents the senior year of a girls’ high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore. As each one tries to become the first in their families to attend college, the girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in the troubled city.