Photo: Variety Photo: Variety Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 Photo: Variety The 10 Best Movies of Cannes 2019 1 / 1 Back to Gallery The Cannes Film Festival is too rich an event to have an “off” year, but by the end of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, it was more or less universally agreed upon that the festival had regained a full-on, holy-moutaintop-of-art luster that was lacking the year before. It helps, of course, to have headline-making movies by iconic auteurs, and Terrence Malick, Pedro Almodóvar, and Quentin Tarantino all had films in competition that delivered that blend of artistic rush and gravitas. But there were, in addition, a great many up-and-coming voices who rose above the fray, from Céline Sciamma … [Read more...] about The 10 Best Movies of Cannes 2019
10 best movies of 2016
Tina Fey’s Birthday: Her Top 10 Best Movies Ranked
Born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey, Tina Fey grew up just west of Philadelphia. Fey thought of herself as a "supernerd" during her high school and college years. She would go on to be a major talent on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. Graduating from the University of Virginia in 1992, she ended up in Chicago at the Second City Training Center; home of many SNL stars. In 1975, she was scouted for SNL and was offered a position not long after, making her one of the only female writers at the time. She then was made the head writer of SNL, the first female head writer in the show's history. She made her screen debut on the show, co-anchoring the "Weekend Update" skit with Jimmy Fallon. She, with the rest of her team, shared an Emmy Award for outstanding writing in 2002. Fey made her move into motion pictures when she wrote Mean Girls in 2004, appearing as one of its supporting characters. She then left SNL to write, produce and star in 30 Rock in 2006, which was … [Read more...] about Tina Fey’s Birthday: Her Top 10 Best Movies Ranked
The 10 Best Movies of 2016
‘Manchester By The Sea’ leads solid year of titles. Putting together our annual best movies list is one of my favorite parts of the job. Looking through 2016 back issues is always fun. So how did 2016 rank in movies? We gave more than 30 movies either three and a half or four stars, our two highest ratings. That number was on par for 2015, but higher than 2014. So it turns out 2016 was a solid year at the movies. But before we launch into the best films of the year, a note: I have yet to see several films — “20th Century Women,” “Silence,” “Paterson,” “Hidden Figures,” “Toni Erdmann,” “Elle” and “A Monster Calls” — now playing in the major metro markets getting good critical buzz. (In addition, we were inexplicably not invited to the press screening for “Fences,” so the acclaimed film didn’t make the list.) With that in mind, here are our best films of 2016. 1. … [Read more...] about The 10 Best Movies of 2016
What were the best movies of 2018? Mark Hinson picks the Top 10
There were plenty flawed or OK films this year. 10 worst: Now for the blech and blah movies of 2018 Some of them included “Heredity” (the ending was horror-movie tropes), “Eighth Grade” (great acting but, face it, it trafficked in stereotypes), “Sorry To Bother You” (tried to attack everything at once), “BlacKkKlansman” (man, Spike Lee needs a story editor), “Isle of Dogs” (it should have been an hour long), “Roma” (it was way too slow), “A Star Is Born” (Lady Gaga was breakout, but it’s still a melodrama) and “Black Panther” (at its core, it was a Marvel movie). Even the crowd-pleasing “Bohemian Rhapsody” was full of half-truths and factual mistakes. Oh, well. Just look at America’s president’s Twitter feed for answers. That said, here are 10 movies that were really smart and challenging to watch. 10.) 'Death of Stalin' At the … [Read more...] about What were the best movies of 2018? Mark Hinson picks the Top 10
Best Art of 2018
The art critics of The New York Times tell you what rocked their worlds this year: notable art events, works in museums and galleries, emerging artists and how they found beauty in unexpected places. Roberta Smith’s List | Holland Cotter’s List | Jason Farago’s Global Highlights Roberta Smith Winners and Losers When the going gets rough, there’s always art. It can soothe and teach you, and arm you with new tools and perspectives with which to face the world. This year had some great winners and obvious losers. Winner: Art History, Refigured One of the most thrilling winners was European and American “Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future,” introducing works that this Swedish artist and mystic made in 1906-7. Suddenly, the most sacred genesis tale of Modernism — the invention of abstract painting — has acquired a female actor who actually got there several years ahead of the revered triumvirate of Kandinsky, Mondrian and Malevich. … [Read more...] about Best Art of 2018