A review of by Alvin G. Burstein The approach of Christmas stirs up memories—and a wish. Some of the memories reflect my confusions about the holidays as a child. Both my parents were Russian immigrants. Mother was an observant Jew. Although my father had spiritual interests reflected in his Masonic studies, he did not follow […]
by Alvin G. Burstein My first reaction was to think of this film as a mash-up of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, with its fantastic and frightening monster, and Splash, with its mermaid romance. But more complexity is promised by the beginning and ending epigraphs that frame it: If I spoke about it – […]
by Alvin G. Burstein “Once upon a time” is a phrase signaling the beginning of a fairy tale. Fairy tales are folk tales that persist in a culture because they embody and illustrate that culture’s values. They function as parables. So the title of this film invites us to look for its moral center. There […]
by Alvin G. Burstein The biopic’s title prepares us for a consideration of moral perversion. Johnnie Depp’s chilling portrayal of James (Whitey) Bulger, the Boston mob boss, his bloody career, and his relationship with the FBI provide that opportunity, raising questions, some of which go unanswered. The film describes Bulger’s transition from a member of […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein BlackBerry premiered February 2023 at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. Although it won no awards there, following its release to theatres and its on-line streaming, it attracted a great deal of positive comment. Directed by Matt Johnson, who also played one of the three main characters, Doug Fregin, […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD After my father died, and my mother gave up trying to run the HJB, their mom and pop grocery, we moved in with my grandmother, Perl. Her home was the last white owned one in a neighborhood that had become all black. I started second grade at the […]
by Alvin G. Burstein Although I miss the silver screen and the ambience of the movie theatre, I have found that streamed television has given me access to films that I might not have encountered in a theatre. RRR, released 2022, is one of those. When I learned film writer and critic Robert Cargill described […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD All That Breathes is said to be a documentary, and it almost is. It is a Hindi-language film directed by Shaunak Sen and coproduced by him, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer for Rise Films. I say almost a documentary because it goes beyond recording to make philosophical and […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein In 2012, The Swedish author Fredrik Backman published a novel, A Man Called Ove. His book was on the The New York Times best seller list for almost a year. A film version appeared in 2015 that won multiple awards and is reportedly the most frequently viewed Swedish film. […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD Steven Speilberg is the crown prince of movie makers. His blockbusters, Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Bridge of Spies, ET and the Indiana Jones series, are too numerous to list completely here. His latest film, The Fabelmans, winning Motion Picture and Best Director awards at the 2023 Golden Globe […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD In 1963, when I moved from the University of Michigan to the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of Illinois, I met one of the last giants of Psychology, Ernest A. Haggard, who held a professorship there and a prestigious career investigator’s award from the National Institute of Mental […]
The holiday season is upon us, and I began thinking about a Christmas film. A few years ago, I reviewed several versions of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for the December issue of Psychology Times, and on another occasion It’s a Wonderful Life. It came to my attention that there is a third Christmas classic—one that […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD I need to begin this review with a disclaimer: this film is disturbing, both because stirs up the deep prejudice about the body dysmorphia we call obesity and because of its plot complexities. It is troubling in a third way as well. It combines acting so convincing that […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD In the early 1940’s while I was jerking sodas in Canar’s, a skid row drugstore in Omaha, one of my ancillary responsibilities was serving as guardian of the rack displaying comic books. I was to prevent the teenagers who frequented the store from reading the magazines on display […]
A Review by Alvin G. Burstein, PhD This is a frankly feel-good movie, one that promises that dreams can come true. It is based on a novel, one of a series by Paul Gallico, featuring the protagonist, Mrs. Harris, a cleaning woman in London in the late nineteen forties. Its theme seems an odd one […]