One day, you’re showing an interesting foreign film at an art museum. The very next day, you see that movie get nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. This actually happened to me a few weeks back when a little bit of Seoul came to Flint. The movie was “Parasite,” a seriocomic, class-conscious, genre-bending thriller
You know you’re getting old when what’s playing on “Oldies Radio” are tunes fresh from your 30s and 40s. In case you hadn’t noticed, what used to be the province of the Beatles, Stones, Seger and Motown Records greats has been “youth”-infused with the best of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, the grown-up Michael Jackson and old-school
Why in the name of Jar Jar Binks am I not more excited about “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”? The sci-fi flick coming to theaters December 20 is the ninth – and supposedly final – entry in what was conceived as a triple trilogy by George Lucas 40-plus years ago. But the results of
At this writing, I am still able to count the hours since I sat through “Joker.” The experience was somewhere between impressive and appalling. Both, really. Given that this dark, violent origin story of the Batman-saga villain has grossed well over $200 million domestically and more than $700 million worldwide, it’s no stretch to think
Where do filmmakers get their story ideas? Sometimes, from places you might not know about. Sure, there have been comic books, novels, classic TV shows and old Hollywood movies that have provided story bases for many a contemporary film. But more modern movies than you’d think have sprung from the cinematic productions of other nations.
This summer, the movies – or at least the ones I seemed to enjoy the most – made me feel nostalgic. First, there was Rocketman, with its spot-on portrayal of Elton John by Taron Egerton, and its revival of a pop music songbook that rivaled anyone’s in the 1970s. I felt like unearthing my old,
A comeback for Aretha Franklin? The singing great from Detroit died in August 2018, but the movie about her that she did not want you to see is new in theaters – including one in Flint. A concert film shot in 1972 but not released until after Franklin’s death, “Amazing Grace” showcases the gospel-singing talents
As the movie season at the Flint Institute of Arts winds down (and it does every spring), it takes time to catch up on some of the Academy Award-nominated work that you might have missed in commercial theaters or via streaming services. Museum visitors in May will have the opportunity to experience Oscar-finalist emoting by
They used to be called “selected short subjects” on theater marquees. Now, unless you’re a regular watcher of those vintage comedies, variety acts and travelogues that air between full-length movies on TCM – or if you seek out those new, eight-minute-or-so cartoons shown before certain first-run animated features – there aren’t many theatrical short pictures
Any parent who – in a moment of pique or a morass of doubt – ever looked at his or her child and asked, “Do I know you?” will find a way to connect with the new documentary Far From the Tree. Based on the best-selling book by Andrew Solomon, the screen version otherwise
The impending Academy Awards (they still give those out, you know) may be better known for what the February 24th ceremony will lack than for any honor to be bestowed. There’s no official host for the program, at least not one slated at this writing. Kevin Hart was dropped, you’ll recall, after a furor
Not to “out” some of you in the My City audience, but I’d guess there are those reading this column who have enjoyed the forbidden pleasure of the industrial musical. Live, on stage, with a cast of legit professional actors singing songs by Broadway-caliber composers … about plumbing fixtures … or dog food …
