Movie review by Greg Carlson Available on Hulu following a world premiere at Sundance and a spring release date in the U.K., director Raine Allen-Miller’s feature debut “Rye Lane” is an ebullient drop of sunshine with more than enough charm to match its fresh and earnest spin on the romantic comedy. Even the rom-com averse […]
Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis
Movie review by Greg Carlson Dutch photographer, music video creator, and film director Anton Corbijn – now in his late 60s – brings his artistic insider touch to “Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis,” an engaging and entertaining documentary examination of the massively influential team responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5280
Barbie
Movie review by Greg Carlson As fans dress up and Warner and Mattel executives celebrate box office returns, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” finally arrives – along with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” – to jolt attendance and launch thousands of essays on everything from the film’s use of the Old Testament creation myth to its mockery of male […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5271
The Starling Girl
Movie review by Greg Carlson Laurel Parmet’s feature directorial debut “The Starling Girl” arrives on demand following a Sundance Film Festival premiere and a short theatrical window via Bleecker Street. Finding fresh ways to depict coming-of-age stories involving matters of socially taboo topics is a tall order, but Parmet handles the story of a 17-year-old […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5268
Past Lives
Movie review by Greg Carlson Writer-director Celine Song’s feature debut “Past Lives” premiered to much acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Beautifully photographed by Shabier Kirchner on 35mm film, the thoughtful and contemplative drama might be as destined for award season accolades as the star-crossed childhood sweethearts are for paths that twine together […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5264
Stan Lee
Movie review by Greg Carlson An online search for articles about David Gelb’s documentary “Stan Lee” returns a lengthy list of headlines summarizing what has been, for many years, the story about the story. Even many non-fans know that the recognizable face of Marvel Comics was an opportunist and self-promoter, often reluctant to share the […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5260
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Movie review by Greg Carlson Filmmaker Lana Wilson’s “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” uses two parts (now on Hulu following a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival) to explore the career of its title subject, the well-known model, actor, performer and celebrity. Life in the spotlight began for Shields when her mother Teri supposedly announced […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5255
Asteroid City
Movie review by Greg Carlson A vibrant troupe including several precocious brainiacs, their parents, military personnel, astrophysicists, singing cowboys, a grieving widower, a movie star, and a trio of tiny witches and/or vampires-in-training converges on Asteroid City (population 87) for the 1955 Junior Stargazer Convention in Wes Anderson’s gorgeous new feature. As quintessentially Andersonian as […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5249
A Thousand and One
Movie review by Greg Carlson Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner “A Thousand and One” is a vital New York story that unfolds over the course of a decade. And even though its spot-on period detail situates the drama in the place Toni Morrison called “the last true city,” the emotional weight of a […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5245
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Movie review by Greg Carlson Until I saw “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” I really thought the cinematic expression of the multiverse concept had peaked with the triumphant Best Picture Academy Award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a movie that catapults us – as I wrote in my original review – “onto the tracks of […]
http://southpawfilmworks.net/?p=5240