Roberto Rossellini's 'Stromboli'

Once upon an isle

Roberto Rossellini’s restored Stromboli, a film as much about the director’s scandalous romance with Ingrid Bergman as about its plot of a woman struggling to escape a barren island in postwar Italy, has power and visual beauty despite its melodramatic elements.

Robert Zaller

Jan 30, 2015 · Articles · 6 minute read

Michael Mann's 'Blackhat'

Hacking into reality

The exponentially increasing interconnectedness and interdependence that computers and the Internet have wrought also allow the potential for damage to be ever more serious and substantial, with the real possibility of taking down not just a bank but an entire national economy, or the killing of not just a handful but thousands. In that dark sense, even Blackhat barely scratches the surface.

Mark Wolverton

Jan 24, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Mozart in the Jungle' on Amazon

Who the hell plays the oboe?

Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle gives us that look through the eyes of a naif, a stand-in for the author of the 2005 memoir on which the show is based. The subtitle of that book — “Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music” — tells you a fair amount about the series’ irreverent take, but doesn’t convey the passion for the music that also shines through.

Judy Weightman

Jan 20, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’

Guillermo del Toro takes us for a ride

If you read The Hobbit and you’re still confused by the conclusion of this totally superfluous three-film epic, don’t worry. Just count the number of animals you can ride into war in Middle Earth.

Alaina Johns

Jan 20, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Paul Thomas Anderson’s 'Inherent Vice'

Seriously weird

The trick to enjoying Inherent Vice is to just let the thing wash over you, laugh at the jokes, and don’t fret too much (or at all) about the details. This is substantially easier if you are a fan, as its protagonist is, of late-night movie marathons.

Jake Blumgart

Jan 13, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

ABC's 'Shark Tank'

Capitalism 101: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The lesson of Shark Tank is not just that it is better to be a shark than a guppy, but that sharks are, by nature, killing machines that do not play nice. It might make for good TV but without significant outside intervention, life in a shark tank is neither just nor sustainable. I hope those Shark Tank viewers with big dreams are seeing that part of the show as well.

Jim Cosby

Jan 06, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Iñárritu’s ‘Birdman’

The paradox of art

Birdman is a film that asks and doesn’t answer important questions about life, art, and cyberspace.

Victor L. Schermer

Jan 04, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Bennett Miller's 'Foxcatcher'

Crooked silence

The relationship between the Schultz brothers is as intense as any seen on film. Their wrestling early in the movie is a fierce, wordless depiction of sibling rivalry and harmonic grace. It’s a grace that John du Pont — despite his money — lacks and sorely wants. And if he can’t have it, he can figure out ways to destroy it.

Ilene Raymond Rush

Jan 04, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Morten Tyldum's 'Imitation Game'

A life encrypted

The Imitation Game amply demonstrates the intellectual and personal courage that accompanied Turing's singular genius. A man who penetrated secrets, he was also forced to keep them — not only those of Enigma and its bounty of military intelligence, but also the fact of his homosexual identity.

Mark Wolverton

Jan 04, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Rob Marshall's 'Into the Woods'

What happens when you get your heart's desire?

On Christmas Day, I saw a theater packed with children and wondered how many of their parents were blindsided. But it didn’t matter. Their children got to learn some truths about life.

Steve Cohen

Dec 30, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read