Like a buried, bruised memory come to life, “Honey Boy” is as unabashedly raw in its depiction of troublesome father-son dynamics as it is vibrant in its fantastic performances.
Sam Rosenberg
Daily Arts Writer
Film
“The Departed” is all about paradoxes. The paradox of Irish reservation and sculpting identity, the paradox of committing and preventing crimes, the paradox of deep narrative complexity and the curt dialogue of wise guys. It’s an ordeal of oxymorons, but one that manages to hold distinct place in the canon of organized crime films.
Last Tuesday, I was awakened from my mid-afternoon nap to what sounded like a party happening on the second floor.
Considering how the story is based loosely on Baig’s own life experience, it’s somewhat exasperating that “Hala” fails to convey any new, insightful truths about the rocky tidal wave of growing up.
The wealth of archival footage is astounding and disturbing. Much of the footage from the Warsaw Ghetto depicts starving bodies piled like logs along the streets, shells of human beings deprived of the most basic of human needs.
It tells black people it is their job to teach white people about racism — but that white people will remain the protagonists, the main characters, the saviors in any subsequent struggle for equality.
Crowds of critics would stand outside in the hallways of the theater, chatting and exchanging interpretations with intense vigor on what they just saw. Even when the hours and hours of watching movies felt like a chore, the post-screening conversations would beg to differ.
It’s strange to say, especially as someone usually hasty to criticize movies for overstaying their welcome, but if “The Hidden World” was even just five to ten minutes longer, it would allow for more development for Hiccup and his struggle without sacrificing any of the time we spend with Toothless and the Light Fury. It’s the conclusion of a critically acclaimed trilogy, DreamWorks! Treat yourself!
From Sunday afternoon to night, I watched three queer-themed films: two coming-of-age stories — the enjoyable but inessential “Adam” and the dull “To the Stars” — and a documentary, “Where’s My Roy Cohn?”