If you watch enough movies, a few things start to happen. One of those is that you begin to recognize a filmmaker’s voice. You’ll notice the cheery pessimism of David Fincher, the slick wistfulness of Steven Spielberg, the aggressive goth-osity of Tim Burton, and the puckish rage of Spike Lee. It’s true that some directors […]

Why did Mookie throw the trash can? You can see the crowd watching the murder of Radio Raheem at the hands of white cops, their shared looks of horror. Mookie shares the same look, then runs his hands down his face. He’s come to a decision. With deliberate purpose, he walks to a battered trash […]

Good movies possess fearsome power. They can inspire you or piss you off, provide you with the motivation to get up and do something. Even in our age of disposable media, what else has that kind of influence? Consider this. Brokeback Mountain punched through decades of homophobia and, with an aching love story, helped to “normalize” the LGBT experience. […]

Every week before I see the movie I end up reviewing, I talk to my kid about it. He’s 8 years old, bright, and possesses a goofy sense of humor. Sometimes he’s interested in what I’m going to see. Other times, his attention is captured by more lofty subjects.* I mentioned offhandedly to him that […]