A Review by Alvin G. Burstein For decades, H. L. Mencken adorned the public sphere as an acerbic social, political critic and literary critic. Said to have coined the term Booboisie, he opined, “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White […]
Knives Out A Review by Alvin G. Burstein Card five of Henry Murray’s Thematic Apperception testportrays a middle-aged woman looking through an open doorwith an expression shock and maybe anger on her face. Wegraduate students learning about the test called it TheSnoopy Mother card. Now, more sophisticated, I might retitleit Family Secrets. Adam Smith has […]
Little Women A Review by Alvin G. Burstein This 2019 film is the latest version of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, first published in 1868 and reissued countless times in print, as well as formatted for television and the stage. Its many iterations speak for something compelling in the work. There is an important sense […]
The Rise of Skywalker There was no way that I would miss seeing what was billed as the conclusion of the Star Wars series. Particularly because of the intriguing title. Luke was dead, sacrificing himself as had his first mentor Obi-Wan—would he be resurrected? One of the movie’s strong points is a surprise-filled plot line, […]
Ford V Ferrari This movie, a story about how the Ford Shelby Mustang wrested domination of the fabled Le Mans road race from Ferrari’s race cars will appeal to motor heads and patriots. But its appeal is more complex than that. It begins by taking us inside Ford’s corporate headquarters in the early 60’s where […]
Joker has been criticized as a splatter film likely to encourage copycat gun violence. The movie does—trigger warning— contain some gory scenes, but it is much more complex than an effort to shock or a celebration of violence. Symbolism, social criticism, psychopathology, the human need for affirmation, surrealism and a virtuoso acting performance make a […]
by Alvin G. Burstein This 2019 movie is a striking contrast to the currency of splatter films, special effects and shock. It is a frankly feelgood film with a focus on character and motivation. Many of its reviewers characterize it as a riff on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the Twain classic […]
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 This film is a many-layered confection, like a pousse-café or a Dobosh Torte. At one level, it is the latest link in the seemingly inexhaustible Avenger series of Marvel world films. As such it provides the hectic action and mind- boggling special effects that characterize the super-hero film genre. That is […]
by Alvin G. Burstein This movie about Elton John dazzles, and raises provocative questions. The first of those is that of authorship. Is this a biography, or is it an autobiography? A biography is usually a straightforward historical account of its subject’s life told by someone else. It offers us a chance to evaluate the […]
by Alvin G. Burstein Avengers: End Game is the capstone of a decade of Marvel Comics super-hero sagas. It is a three-hour blockbuster loaded with features that will entertain viewers and deeply gratify followers of Captain America and his superhero team and their battles against forces of evil. The Avengers series has antecedents in a […]
by Alvin G. Burstein Penguins is literally spectacular. It immerses the viewer in the dramatic panorama of the Antarctica, not a frozen solitude, but the setting of an incredible avian migration and its complex context. If that were not enough to make it worth the price of admission, the opening credits remind us of contributions […]
by Alvin G. Burstein Jordan Peele’s follow-up, Us, to his highly acclaimed Get Out shares its predecessor’s blend of horror and comedy, but is more thought provoking. Race is not a critical focus for this second film. Us left me thinking about the relationships among horror, terror and the surreal. The ethical questions it raises […]
by Alvin G. Burstein This movie begins with an Oscar Wilde epigram: “Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go.” That sets the tone for this movie, both in substance and in style. It is a movie centered on murderous revenge—a death that brings happiness to an avenger. And Wildean ironic humor is reflected in the film’s slyly […]
by Alvin G. Burstein This biopic focuses on an early case argued by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, now in her twenty-sixth year on the Supreme Court, the second female justice to be appointed. The screenwriter, Daniel Stiepleman, is her nephew, and unsurprisingly, the film is a warm tribute to someone who has become an icon of political liberalism in general, and […]