THE FABELMANS

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No 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.

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

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.

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

Impressive.

Gabriel LaBelle is the new Dustin Hoffman.

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.

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.

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.

RED ROCKET — CANNES 2021

Welcome!  

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does. Punk heart still beating.

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!

 

"Red Rocket" is as good as American Independent Cinema gets.

Fantastic.

Sean Baker, don't you dare go Hollywood.

It's worth repeating, Sean Baker is our modern-day John Cassavetes.

But if Baker ever directs a Marvel movie it will be all over. 

Don't make the same mistake that Chloé Zhao ("Nomadland") made. What a sell out.

"Red Rocket" is an emotionally intense Trump-era satirical drama that lands every punch of betrayal, selfishness, and senseless greed for ego fulfillment.

Simon Rex deals a virtuosic portrayal of an inveterate narcissist porn star taking those near him on a downhill ride to hell.  

Wow.

American narcissism's days are numbered. 

Hallefuckinglujah. 

Rated R. 130 mins.

FAT CITY

Welcome!

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel. Punk heart still beating.

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!

John Huston's 1972 boxing drama, based on screenwriter Leonard Gardner's novel, is a bruiser. 

"Fat City" fits right alongside "Night Moves," "Atlantic City" and "The King of Marvin Gardens" for its bleak depiction of a '70s era America falling apart at the seams.

No one has any money.

Romance is a down and dirty business.

Boxing serves as an apt metaphor about fighting for survival under Capitalism with few resources or any real sense of hope.

Stacey Keach, Jeff Bridges, and Susan Tyrrell dish out the pain.