Families react to tragedy in "August: Osage County" and "Nebraska"
By now, we should be convinced that Meryl Streep can do anything, but we've never seen her do ugly like this!
"The Wolf of Wall Street": "Mean Streets" director does "Ugly Street"
It's an ugly, unforgivable movie of shameful practices and sociopathic tendencies. How else, of course, would you make a movie about Wall Street finance?
Black-themed films lead Progie nominations
Riding a wave of black-themed films, movies about slavery, apartheid, and police repression dominate this year's nominations for best progressive films.
"American Hustle" is not a masterpiece, it's just a lot of fun
"American Hustle" isn't an art experience; it isn't a universal story and it won't change your life or your attitude. It's only what movies are made to be: fun.
“Negro Comrades of the Crown” should be required reading
Horne focuses on the reactionary nature of U.S. slavery and racism, and demonstrates the vanguard role of African Americans in the struggle for freedom.
In "Her" boy meets computer, falls in love
My movie buddy drifted off to sleep during the talky new sci-fi film "Her." The good news about Spike Jonze's unusual film is the terrific acting by Joaquin Phoenix.
“Opposing Jim Crow”: How African Americans helped shape Soviet antiracism
"Opposing Jim Crow: African Americans and the Soviet Indictment of U.S. Racism, 1928-1937" critically investigates what she calls "Soviet antiracism."
"Philomena:" heartbreak, fortitude, and search for closure
It's something of a "buddy movie," one of many where two people with great dissimilarities are teamed together in some common objective over which they have no agreement.
Start the year with some great labor films
Let me quickly recommend some lesser known labor films worth your attention.
“Club Red”: Vacation, Soviet-style
Koenker also paints a vivid, detailed picture of a government sincerely attempting to live up to its promise of "the good life" for its citizens.
