84 posts categorized "Coming-of-Age"

January 01, 2023

THE FABELMANS

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

Welcome!

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

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Thanks a lot acorns!

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ColeSmithey.comNo one does populist pap like Steven Spielberg.

I say that in a good way.

"The Fabelmans" carries such rich generational, emotionally driven, '50s era touchstones to entertain and touch us.

Damn, this is a good movie.

Tearjerker.

This may well be Steven Spielberg's best film.

You couldn't ask for a finer swan song if that turns out to be the case.

ColeSmithey.com

Michelle Williams is remarkable in her role as Mitzi Fabelman, a complex mother, wife, artist, musician, dancer, and free thinker.

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Seth Rogan has matured nicely, as displayed in his commanding performance in a thankless role that Rogan elevates to something important, inspiring, and real.

Cool man. Nice work.

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Which brings us to Gabriel LaBelle, the hotshot rookie actor showing off his stuff with serious feeling, timing, and physicality.

Impressive.ColeSmithey.com

Gabriel LaBelle is the new Dustin Hoffman.

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Gabriel LaBelle is Spielberg's not-so-secret asset to this very satisfying movie about movie-making toward different motivations and skills.

I would be remiss to leave out the always wonderful Paul Dano, handling a difficult role with perfect mastery.

Beautifully understated and profound is Dano's rendering.

ColeSmithey.com

Steven Spielberg and his ensemble had a lot of fun making this exquisite movie, and it shows in every frame.

"The Fabelmans" is a memoir imagined. It is an important artistic achievement that wears its heart on its cotton sleeve.

ColeSmithey.com

At least someone still knows how to tell a story on film.

Cheers to Steven Spielberg for this full-on masterpiece of the seventh art.

Rated PG-13. 151 mins.

5 Stars“ColeSmithey.com“

Cozy Cole

Cole Smithey on Patreon

April 24, 2022

RUSHMORE — THE CRITERION COLLECTION

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a lot pal! Your generosity keeps the reviews coming!

Cole Smithey on Patreon

 

ColeSmithey.comBefore Wes Anderson became a pale imitation of himself, he made a splashy sophomore comedy with punch.

Anderson's attention to meta/micro details gets filtered through an up-tempo youthful comic tone that flies in the face of adult romance.

Screen Shot 2022-04-24 at 12.09.51 AM

Jason Schwartzman is Max Fischer, Anderson''s hilarious spoof on Dustin Hoffman's character in "The Graduate."

Bill Murray does an early version of the Bill Murray he would become, while indulging in laugh-inducing slap-stick bits.

Screen Shot 2022-04-24 at 12.13.15 AM

Precocious but not precious, "Rushmore" is heavy-hearted comedy with a light touch.

ColeSmithey.com

Here is an over-achiever's paradise.

Funny stuff.

Rated R. 93 mins.

4 Stars

Cozy Cole

Cole Smithey on Patreon

March 14, 2022

ST. VINCENT

ColeSmithey.comGroupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

Welcome!

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon.

Thanks a lot acorns!

Your kind generosity keeps the reviews coming!

Cole Smithey on Patreon



ColeSmithey.comBill Murray once again confirms his value as a cottage film industry.

I know of no other actor who has so many filmmakers writing movies so clearly built around him or her.

Good.

No matter how weathered, flawed, and mean, Bill Murray's characters have head, heart, and libido in their compartmentalized places.

"St. Vincent" is a formula coming-of-age comedy that tics all the boxes.

ColeSmithey.com

While it might not be a masterpiece, it does give Bill Murray's mastery room to roam.

ColeSmithey.com

Bill Murray is our saint of Cinema.

Say a prayer with Bill Murray in mind.

Rated PG-13. 102 mins.


4 StarsModern Cole

Cozy Cole

Cole Smithey on Patreon

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