Tag: Julianne Moore

‘Dear Evan Hansen’: Beautiful ballads crash into an ugly narrative

Jeff Mitchell

“Dear Evan Hansen” – “On the outside, always looking in.  Will I ever be more than I’ve always been?  ‘Cause I’m tap, tap, tapping on the glass. I’m waving through a window.  I try to speak, but nobody can hear.”  – Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) Evan lives in dire straits.  He’s a senior at Westview High School, and like many other students, he carries anxiety about his current place in (and state of) the world.  Comedienne Carol Burnett said, “Adolescence is one big pimple,” and she’s right.  Evan frequently feels…

‘Spirit Untamed’ is cute, but it’s also a paint-by-numbers ride

Jeff Mitchell

Lucky Prescott’s (Isabela Merced) name doesn’t suit her, at least for the first 10-plus years of her life.  Her mom – Milagro Navarro (Elza Gonzalez), a world-class horse rider – dies in a circus accident (within the opening few minutes of this movie).  To make matters worse, instead of her father, Jim Prescott (Jake Gyllenhaal), providing oceans of support, he unilaterally and inexplicably decides that his sister, Cora (Julianne Moore), will care for Lucky.  Cora says to Lucky, “Something broke in your father.” And how!  Jim later explains his actions. …

Ironically, ‘The Glorias’ works too hard

Jeff Mitchell

“The Glorias” –  “The path up is always a jagged line, not a straight one.” – Gloria Steinem “Roam if you want to.  Roam around the world.  Roam if you want to, without wings, without wheels.” – The B-52s, “Roam” Most folks probably know feminist icon Gloria Steinem from “Ms.” (magazine) and her trademark glasses, but this influential trailblazer is a whole lot more than her 49-year-old publication and fancy spectacles. There’s only one Gloria Steinem.  That’s true, except in writer/director Julie Taymor’s “The Glorias”, a Steinem biopic with four…