A tape recorder clicks on, playing the growling voice of former President Richard Nixon. He’s talking about the Vietnam war and actress Jane Fonda, specifically. He praises her father, actor Henry Fonda, before condescendingly opining how Fonda’s daughter is going…
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Review: A Great Expose If You Buy What Scotty’s Selling
As classic film fans will tell you, the new wave of Hollywood secrets coming out today are nothing if you know about studio era history. Certain stars troubles were well-known, if not open secrets in the Hollywood of the ’30s…
McQueen Movie Review: A Troubled Life Bathed in Beauty
British designer Alexander McQueen was an ordinary man who made extraordinary clothes. Or at least that’s the main takeway of Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary McQueen. The story of a small-town London bloke becoming one of the most iconic…
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot Review: A Mediocre Work of Astounding Ableism
There comes a point during director Gus Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot where main character John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) attends an AA meeting and brings up his disability. It’s a fact of his life that…
Love, Cecil Movie Review: A Breathtaking Portrait of Glamour and Elegance
At the beginning of Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s latest documentary, subject Cecil Beaton is described as a fashion designer, photographer, an author, and a dandy. How can one man be all those things, defining every facet of popular culture from publishing…
Interview: Debra Granik Talks Filmmaking and ‘Leave No Trace’
Debra Granik is wonderful! You could consider that pandering to an interview subject, but I don’t know many people – celebrity status aside – able to go from discussing the Annenberg study on film criticism to Shakespeare and beyond. Granik’s…
Director Brett Haley Talks How He Made ‘Hearts Beat Loud’ Sing
Like the greatest musical experiences, you can’t recreate your first listen. This is how I felt conducting my second interview in 24 hours with Brett Haley, the director of the Nick Offerman/Kiersey Clemons-starring musical Hearts Beat Loud. Brett and I…
