In a quirky voice-over by cheeky Olivia Colman, we are introduced to Louis Wain (Benedict Cumberbatch). An odd duck of young man in Victorian England, he is the ill-suited sole breadwinner for his mother and five sisters. Ill-suited in that he dabbles in illustrations of farm animals, tries to pitch curious home-penned operas to unimpressed …
It’s hard to argue against the message that Joe Bell, the real man, attempted to convey on his 2013 “redemption tour” as he walked across the country to speak out against bullying. Joe’s message was intensely personal, as his son Jadin was relentlessly bullied at his high school in La Grande, Oregon for being gay. …
Hollywood loves a good downward spiral tragedy, especially when it involves a celebrity, real or imagined. The beautiful and talented disintegrate in full public view, from drugs, alcohol, or self-destructive behavior. We can’t look away. These stories are also Oscar-bait (look at all the nominations for A Star Is Born incarnations, or Renee Zellweger walking …
Based on Gloria Steinem’s own memoir My Life on the Road, The Glorias painstakingly covers the feminist icon’s life from her childhood in the 1940s to the Women’s March in January 2016. That span of time feels as long as it sounds as portrayed in this biopic, which seems to be simultaneously worshipful, deferential, and …
Emma Thompson, turning in what is easily one of her richest and most complex performances, stars as P.L. Travers, the seriously sour, exceedingly stubborn and altogether unpleasant British author who, for more than two decades, refused to sign over the rights to her book, Mary Poppins, to Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). When Disney throws one …
Arguably the first porn superstar, Linda Lovelace shot to fame in mainstream America when the goofy 1972 porn film Deep Throat became a bonafide hit. Linda was a girl next door who happened to have an extreme talent, and the feature-length porno was watched by everyone from celebrities to suburban couples on date night. Lovelace …
Because of the year it was produced (1970), the sometimes cheesy acting, and the sometimes wince-inducing voice-over narration that was a result of its day, The Christine Jorgensen Story could be easily labeled and tossed away as camp. But I have to say, that if someone out there was questioning their gender identity, and came …