Review: ‘Argylle’ is a Lot

By Abe Friedtanzer

I find that going into movies knowing as little as possible is always an advantage, though it can be difficult when something has a big budget and has been relentlessly advertised. Fortunately and perhaps miraculously, all I knew of Argylle before sitting down to watch was the tagline from the billboards I’ve seen plastered all over Los Angeles:

“The greater the spy, the bigger the lie.”

With those expectations, I imagined excess and entertainment, which this film sort of delivers…

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Awards Season Catchup: The Bad Guys

By Abe Friedtanzer

One of this year’s most successful contenders for Best Animated Feature was released way back in April. It hasn't been as present on the awards circuit as its success and generally positive reviews would suggest. Whatever prizes it ultimately wins would only add to the fact that this family-friendly caper comedy, based on Aaron Blabey’s book series, is highly enjoyable and very much worth seeking out.

Wolf introduces audiences to his team of notorious thieves, who commit major heists and other crimes as regularly as possible. They do it partly for the big takes, but also for the specific joy from getting away with it...

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Great Acting or Great Makeup?

by Cláudio Alves

As soon as the first Bombshell teaser dropped, many were ready to claim Charlize Theron's performance as a great feat of transformative acting. She had become Megyn Kelly, apparently. That people were saying this after having only seen a couple of pointed glances and a tense smile left me perplexed. Were people reacting to the acting or the makeup? Still thinking about Theron, one remembers how she sailed to an Oscar in 2003 but Monster didn't get a much deserving Best Makeup nomination. Sure, that performance is incredible, but part of the transformation is the cosmetic wizardry of the makeup brush rather than the virtuosity of the actress.

When it comes to "transformative performances", a lot of people conflate great acting with great makeup...

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'Marriage Story' Wins the Night at the Gotham Awards

by Murtada Elfadl

Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach’s LA has nothing on New York except space divorce story, fittingly dominated the Gotham Awards last night. It won every award it was nominated for - feature, screenplay, actor - plus the audience award. Awkwafina won best actress for The Farewell over Indie Spirit nominees Alfre Woodard, Mary Kay Place and Elisabeth Moss. She is not nominated for the LA counterpart to the Gothams. We doubt they’ll fall for Baumbach as hard as the New Yorkers did. They’ve seen the film and know which city he prefers.

Tributes were given to Laura Dern, Sam Rockwell, Ava DuVernay and producer Glen Basner. Baumbach and his partner Greta Gerwig came out in Raf Simmons designed sweaters adorned with Dern pictures to present her award. 

Here is the evening’s full list of winners...

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Fosse/Verdon - Finale!

by Eric Blume

Michelle & Sam as Gwen & Bobby

Fosse/Verdon wrapped its 8-episode run this Tuesday, and here’s a quick recap on the final three episodes, and some overall thoughts on this captivating mini-series.

Episode Six, “All I Care About is Love” 
Episode six concerned Fosse’s heart attack during the editing of Lenny (1974) editing and rehearsals for Chicago on Broadway.  It was one of the weaker episodes of the series, especially coming off the previous episode, the almost-staged-play episode with the characters locked in a Hamptons house, arguably the show’s high-water mark.  That episode gave director Thomas Kail (who went from Hamilton to TV with graceful ease) the opportunity to put in the nails early on and keep screwing tightly, with all the actors laser-focused on their objectives and obstacles.  Episode Six, on the other hand, contained some material handled directly in All That Jazz, and it felt more like a transitional episode for the final narrative haul of the show...

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