Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Blog, page 51

In Moving “Lion,” Dev Patel Roars

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] Lion (Garth Davis, 2016) Based on the memoir A Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley, Lion tells the tale of how Brierley, born in extreme poverty in India, came to be adopted, as a young child, by a childless Australian couple. … Continue reading In Moving “Lion,” Dev Patel Roars

The Dilemma of “Jackie”: Beautiful to Behold, Unbearable to Watch

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] Jackie (Pablo Larraín, 2016) We first meet her in close-up, shot in muted grays and blues, with a series of oddly centered compositions, smoking, walking, and then greeting a journalist – never named, but clearly Theodore White – who has come to … Continue reading The Dilemma of “Jackie”: Beautiful to Behold, Unbearable to Watch

Rodricks, Reed and DeLibero on the Films of December 2016

Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film & Moving Image, Stevenson University – joined Dan Rodricks on his Baltimore Sun podcast, “Roughly Speaking,” where we discussed the films of the current season, from the Oscar-worthy to big box-office draws, including The Edge of Seventeen, Jackie, La La Land, Manchester by … Continue reading Rodricks, Reed and DeLibero on the Films of December 2016

“A Kind of Murder” Is a Worthy Tribute to Highsmith

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.]   A Kind of Murder (Andy Goddard, 2016) The late, great American writer Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) – best known for books like Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley – was a virtuoso in the art of psychological unease. … Continue reading “A Kind of Murder” Is a Worthy Tribute to Highsmith

“Collateral Beauty” Offers Mostly Collateral Damage

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] Collateral Beauty (David Frankel, 2016) Let us be clear about one thing: Collateral Beauty is utterly ridiculous. Overstuffed with big-name actors – from Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) to Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) to Naomie Harris (Moonlight) to Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) … Continue reading “Collateral Beauty” Offers Mostly Collateral Damage

“La La Land” Is a Magical, Musical Paean to the Hollywood Dream Factory

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016) From its exuberant opening musical number, set atop a traffic-jammed Los Angeles freeway overpass, La La Land announces its intention to win your heart through whimsy. With songs and score (alternately toe-tapping and soulful) by … Continue reading “La La Land” Is a Magical, Musical Paean to the Hollywood Dream Factory

In Weary “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Take on the Death Star

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016) Gradually, over the course of the 39 years since the release of the original Star Wars film (now redubbed “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope“), the transmedia universe in which it lives has … Continue reading In Weary “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Take on the Death Star

Ho, Ho, Ho: “Office Christmas Party” Delivers Just Enough Laughs to Mostly Justify Its Existence

[This review will also appear at Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to that review.] Office Christmas Party (Josh Gordon/Will Speck, 2016) There is something both comfortably and distressingly familiar about Office Christmas Party, a simultaneously laid-back and frenetic comedy about underdogs who triumph over adversity of their own making. Filled with talented-enough actors who … Continue reading Ho, Ho, Ho: “Office Christmas Party” Delivers Just Enough Laughs to Mostly Justify Its Existence

Rodricks, Reed and DeLibero on the 70th Anniversary of “The Best Years of Our Lives”

Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film & Moving Image, Stevenson University – joined Dan Rodricks on his Baltimore Sun podcast, “Roughly Speaking,” where we discussed the lovely and groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece The Best Years of Our Lives, released in 1946 to wide critical and box-office … Continue reading Rodricks, Reed and DeLibero on the 70th Anniversary of “The Best Years of Our Lives”

2 Pieces @hammertonail: Review of “Woman on Fire” + Interview with Director Otto Bell of “The Eagle Huntress”

In the past weeks, Hammer to Nail posted a couple of pieces of mine: a review of Woman on Fire, a documentary about the first openly trans firefighter in New York City; and my interview with director Otto Bell, who made The Eagle Huntress, about the first female eagle hunter in Mongolia. Here are the links to each post: Woman on … Continue reading 2 Pieces @hammertonail: Review of “Woman on Fire” + Interview with Director Otto Bell of “The Eagle Huntress”