The point of a biopic is to understand its subject. Isn’t it? I think so, though, for a long time, biopics seemed to exist to portray every significant moment in a person’s life, then sum it all up.* The best ones, however, examine a period of time or series of moments, then focus on behavior […]

Not every film actor is a chameleon. Sure, the Meryl Streeps and Daniel Day-Lewises of the world can vanish into roles and become a hundred different people with protean speed. They tend to be the exception to the rule. When we go to the movies, most of the names up on the screen tend to […]

Making a movie is hard. Making a good movie? That’s really hard. Making a good mystery? These days that appears to be damn near impossible, given the relative scarcity of mysteries. Horror movies, superhero flicks, action, and dramas are all doing well in theaters and multiplexes. A good old whodunit? They’re a rare breed. But […]

We live in an age of miracles. It doesn’t always seem that way, though. When a maniac opens fire on a country music concert and the citizens of our country are locked in an ideological battle, it can feel like we’re hurtling toward the abyss. I don’t think we are. Not really, anyway. The miraculous […]