Madonna embodies the torture of going out to (some) movies
Movie buffs cheered the Alamo Drafthouse chain of theaters last week when it banned pop star Madonna for life. Madge didn’t do anything disgraceful at one of the Austin-based company’s theaters, but...
View Article‘12 Years a Slave’ & the relativity of screen violence
I saw Steve McQueen’s extraordinary film “12 Years a Slave” last weekend, and many of the images in it still linger. Hollywood has given us countless tales of the Old South before and during the Civil...
View Article‘Philomena’ echoes story told in ‘The Magdalene Sisters’
The new Judi Dench film “Philomena” opened to strong reviews and good business a few weeks ago, and seems likely to earn the actress an Oscar nomination. The movie tells the story of an elderly woman...
View ArticleComing: Sue Monk Kidd’s devastating ‘Invention of Wings’
In a totally coincidental bit of synergy, Sue Monk Kidd’s new novel, “The Invention of Wings” (Viking) — which will be published Jan. 7 — dovetails perfectly with the completely unsentimental look at...
View ArticleShould we give ‘Gone with the Wind’ the heave-ho?
If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gives its best picture prize to “12 Years a Slave” in two months it will, among other things, be a corrective for giving the same award to “Gone with...
View ArticleAre the Golden Globes developing scruples?
The funniest entertainment news item of the past week appeared in The Hollywood Reporter on Dec. 31. Scott Feinberg wrote about a warning letter that was sent to movie publicists by the president of...
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