Oscar-nominated documentary explores the debate between genius and technique By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: Penn Jillette and Tim Jenison in “Tim’s Vermeer”; Rating: PG-13, Grade: A Genius, we want to believe, is somehow conferred from on high. It is the product of unfathomable inspiration, unparalleled talent, a savant-like ability that confounds far less beautiful minds. What genius […]
Two rising stars get played by the studio system game By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Zac Effron stumble through “That Awkward Moment” ; Rating: R Grade: D Romantic comedy screenwriters want us to believe love is full of cute challenges, inconsequential moments blown out of proportion, awaiting simple, […]
Ralph Fiennes captures the scandalous love affair of Charles Dickens By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Felicity Jones and Ralph Fiennes star in “The Invisible Woman”; Rating: R Grade: B Remember the first time we saw Ralph Fiennes? For most of us, it was in “Schindler’s List” as Amon Goeth, the concentration camp commandant who […]
Midwestern family drama takes dysfunction to surreal heights By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Meryl Streep and Juliette Lewis in “August: Osage County”; Rating: R Grade: B+ Once again, playwright Tracy Letts (“Killer Joe” in conjunction with director William Friedkin and the resurgent Matthew McConaughey as the titular killer subject) adapts his own award-winning […]
Peter Berg ratchets up the action to sell true story By T.T. Stern-Enzi Writer-director Peter Berg (“The Rundown” and “The Kingdom”) knows a thing or two about framing high-testosterone action sequences. The camera is always right in the middle of the live-action set pieces and he’s astute when it comes to presentation. For lightweight […]
Everyone’s favorite star has become the corporate face of Disney By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson seek common ground in “Saving Mr. Banks”; Rating: PG-13 Grade: B Poor PL Travers (Emma Thompson), she was such a cold woman. Full of that stiff upper lip game-facing that we’ve come to […]
The Beat Poets as a drugged-out group of Hardy Boys By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Dane DeHaan and Daniel Radcliffe as Beats-to-be in “Kill Your Darlings”Rating: R Grade: C+ As literary advice, the notion that beleaguered writers must be willing to “kill your darlings” in order to find the truth in a passage […]
The Holocaust seen from the perspective of the daughter of a Communist By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Sophie Nélisse, Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush in “The Book Thief”; Rating: PG-13 Grade: B Sometimes, as a critic, you don’t have to go too far to find a way into a film. The seeds of comparison, […]
One woman’s quest exposes systemic wrongs and a personal truth By T.T. Stern-Enzi Photo: [l to r] Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan search for understanding in “Philomena”; Rating: PG-13 Grade: B+ Stephen Frears seems to be tiptoeing a fine line with “Philomena,” which is based on BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 book, “The Lost Child […]
By Michelle Strauss Music man In a local apartment complex, alarms went off and alerted the police that a robbery […]
What a mouthful Believe it or not, in a local residence, a boyfriend kept his girlfriend’s dentures hostage. Earlier […]
New Picasso? A woman came home from work one sunny afternoon to find her house awry. She frantically observed a […]
By Michelle Strauss Means of transportation When a woman arrived home from work she noticed something rather peculiar: a man […]
By Michelle Strauss Wii the people A woman decided to go outside to take her evening smoke. Inside her residence, […]
