Christian BaleAge: 45Film: ViceRole: Dick Cheney, unorthodox Vice President of the United States who does dark and terrible things to keep America safe and lives largely for his wife’s approval (and also because he has a donor heart). Nomination History:Won Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2011 for The Fighter (2010). …
Amy AdamsAge: 44Film: ViceRole: Lynne Cheney, the driven, Second Lady (Macbeth) of the George W. Bush administration who wears her bra, speaks her mind, and spurs her devoted husband Dick onto new heights neither could reach without the other. Nomination History:Previously nominated for Best Actress for American Hustle (2013). Previously …
Rating: RRuntime: 1 hour, 29 minutesDirector: Pawel Pawlikowski Quick Impressions:Do you believe in God? I wish I knew writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski’s answer to that question. I can’t tell if Cold War ends on a note of bitter irony or tragic hope. Is the ending nihilistic or comforting? It can be …
Rating: PG-13Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutesDirectors: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Quick Impressions:I can’t remember the last time I saw a documentary that so inspired me to create a work of fiction. Well, okay, everything I watch, read, and experience feeds into the fiction I write. But Free Solo …
I reviewed seventy-seven films in 2018, and I liked most of them. (I’m paying out of pocket, so I tend to avoid movies I don’t expect to enjoy.) Even attempting to rank my favorite films was a grueling exercise for me. (In general, trying to assign a value to anything …
Rating: R Runtime: 2 hours Director: Karyn Kusama Quick Impressions: Nicole Kidman is everywhere lately. I keep seeing her clapping at the Golden Globes, giving birth to Aquaman, interviewing Amy Adams, rescuing her gay son from conversion therapy, eating bugs, appearing on the movie poster for that unnecessary remake of …
Rating: RRuntime: 1 hour, 59 minutesDirector: Barry Jenkins Quick Impressions:I’ve never read James Baldwin’s classic novel If Beale Street Could Talk, but I will soon. Inspired by The Favourite, I’m currently reading a biography of Queen Anne, about whom I was previously indifferent thanks to deliberate ignorance. Now that I …
Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 2 hours, 23 minutesDirector: James Wan Quick Impressions:I went to Aquaman with a group of nine family members–my husband, our three kids (aged almost 16, almost 10, and 3 1/2), my parents, my younger sister, and her boyfriend. Reactions were decidedly mixed. My younger son declared afterwards …
Rating: R Runtime: 2 hours, 12 minutes Director: Adam McKay Quick Impressions: So often I’ve written to Santa Claus, “You know what I’d really love to watch with the family this Christmas? A dark comedy about former Vice President Dick Cheney. Hurry Santa! Make my Christmas wish come true.” Obviously …
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes Rating: PG Director: Rob Marshall Quick Impressions: I loved this movie so much. Honestly my intensely positive reaction took me by surprise. I’ve always loved Emily Blunt, but it’s hard not to be suspicious of a sequel to Mary Poppins. Plus, except for that marvelous …
