“Contempt” (1963) – Look up the definition of ‘contempt’, and you’ll find “the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn” and “disregard for something that should be taken into account.” Director Jean-Luc Godard’s movie has a movie-business setting. However, rather than tackling big-budget, big-screen magic, “Contempt” is primarily conversational, and the film’s title certainly becomes a key element to the discourse. Paul (Michel Piccoli), a French playwright-turned-screenwriter, and his wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) are visiting Italy and on-set for a production of “Odyseey”. …
Month: September 2021
‘Last Night in Soho’: This dreamy spectacle awakens into routines
“Last Night in Soho” – Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London to attend fashion school, and this wide-eyed, sweet young woman basks in the hopes of making dresses, friends, and her mark in England’s grandest city. Although director Edgar Wright’s new film sounds like a kindhearted coming-of-age tale, it’s not. “Last Night in Soho” is a horror film, specifically, a ghost story, an ambitious and stylish account. Wright’s filmmaking superpowers of sights and sounds are on display, including swooping camera movements, striking eye candy in every corner on the screen…
‘Dear Evan Hansen’: Beautiful ballads crash into an ugly narrative
“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…