Thompson on Hollywood

Review and Trailer for Oscar-Nominated 'Kon-Tiki' - An Enjoyable, Supersized High-Seas Adventure

Reviews

Norway's Oscar-nominated Foreign-Language entry, the enjoyably supersized “Kon-Tiki,” follows the real-life adventures of explorer Thor Heyerdahl, who, in 1947, embarked on an eccentric mission across the Pacific Ocean, from Peru to Polynesia, on a wooden raft. His goal was to prove that Polynesia...

By Beth Hanna
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April 25, 2013 12:46 PM
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Review: Bette Midler is Infectious in Broadway's 'I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers'

Reviews

There is a moment in Broadway's "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers," as the one-time Hollywood agent extraordinaire is perched on her upholstered throne in Beverly Hills, that you half expect to see Erich von Stroheim cross the stage with a young William Holden in tow.

By James Sims
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April 24, 2013 8:00 PM
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Tribeca Reviews: Moving 'Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia' and Humorless Comedy 'Adult World'

Festivals

Gore Vidal would have hated “Adult World,” the Emma Roberts vehicle that premiered at Tribeca last night. “He had a great **** detector,” notes the veteran journalist Robert Sheer, in Nicholas Wrathall’s doc “Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia,” which also premiered last night at Tribeca, which clearly intends to provide something for everyone. More about Vidal’s powers of detection in a moment.

By John Anderson
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April 19, 2013 11:56 AM
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Tribeca Review: Banker White's 'The Genius of Marian' a Starkly Intimate Portrait of His Mother's Battle with Alzheimer's

Festivals

The Tribeca Film Festival hasn’t exactly been synonymous with documentaries, even if they opened with one the other night -- “Mistaken for Strangers,” Tom Berninger’s off-beat take on his brother’s band, The National. But a special place should be reserved for “The Genius of Marian,” which is about a relatively obscure woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, and a movie that might have been the height of exploitative filmmaking.

By John Anderson
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April 18, 2013 7:30 PM
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Seven Films to Watch at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival: Israel's 'Big Bad Wolves,' 'Six Acts,' and More

Festivals

As always, the feature films at Tribeca (April 17-28) are a mixed bag, which makes it difficult to identify trends. That said, think horror and Israel, and the broader Middle East. The Israelis are back with two features (one a world premiere) that are sure to get attention. Whether they warm anyone’s heart toward Israel is another question.

By David D'Arcy
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April 17, 2013 2:59 PM
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Now and Then: Cary Grant, The Man from Dream City, Revisited (CLIPS)

Features

My own fever dream of Cary Grant takes place between cities, sitting down for a Gibson with Eva Marie Saint on a moving train somewhere in Middle America. Headed "North by Northwest," he's at his sexiest then, temples just flecked with gray, tanned and almost ageless. He's not just the recipient of her advances: he's asking for it.

By Matt Brennan
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April 10, 2013 2:03 PM
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Review: Malick Stumbles with 'To The Wonder'

Reviews

There are no dinosaurs in Terrence Malick's sixth feature, but there are bison, sea turtles, prairies, toxic sludge, sun-dappled water, more prairies, a conflicted priest (Javier Bardem) and enough pirouetting by Olga Kurylenko to make you imagine that she probably felt dizzy at the end of each day's shooting.

By Matt Mueller
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April 10, 2013 12:04 PM
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Review: Antonio Campos Returns with Sexy, Disturbing 'Simon Killer,' Q & A

Festivals

"Simon Killer" marks the second feature by Antonio Campos, who previously wrote and directed the Cannes Un Certain Regard selection "Afterschool" (2008). "Simon Killer" is an icy exercise in troubled masculinity, and a bold pronouncement of cinematic style that's as strong an American indie as any in recent memory. (See IFC's Kubrickian poster below, as well as highlights from Campos' AFI FEST Q&A last fall.)

By Ryan Lattanzio
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April 4, 2013 11:45 AM
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'Blancanieves' Review: 'Snow White,' Spanish Style

Reviews

"Blancanieves" is Pablo Berger's magical Spanish transposition of the Snow White myth into the thrilling arena of bullfighting and flamenco. Opening Friday in New York at the Paris as well as the Angelika, this sumptuous black-and-white silent drama is cause not only for celebration, but for reflection on why "Snow White" is so adaptable now.

By Annette Insdorf
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March 29, 2013 12:58 PM
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'Room 237' Review: Why I Hated, Then Admired 'Shining' Doc

Reviews

A funny thing happened on the way to reviewing “Room 237.” When I first watched Rodney Ascher’s documentary about fanatical theories on Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” I found it so patience-testing and angering that I had to turn it off at the halfway point. When I watched it a second time, obligated for reviewing purposes to watch it through its conclusion, I was slowly yet surely drawn into its heady, dreamlike and often absurd layers. What gives?