Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Wes Anderson Stars: voices of Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Bob Balaban, Liev Schreiber, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton, F Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Yoko Ono, Koyu Rankin, Kunichi Nomura, Ken Watanabe. Isle of Dogs is the new stop-motion animated film from idiosyncratic director Wes Anderson, who previously ventured into this field with The Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009. The film features some great, visually edgy and very Continue reading
LADY BIRD
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Greta Gerwig Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, Beanie Felsetin, Odeya Rush, Stephen Henderson, Lois Smith, Bob Stephenson, Jordan Rodrigues, Marielle Scott. Greta Gerwig is best known for her work as an actress working in the independent scene, especially in the quirky, low budget mumblecore comedies of Joe Swanberg and her collaborations with Noah Baumbach in films like Frances Ha, Mistress America, etc. Now she steps behind the camera for her solo directorial debut with this Continue reading
MAGGIE’S PLAN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Rebecca Miller Stars: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Travis Fimmel, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Wallace Shawn. I find Greta Gerwig an annoying screen presence, especially given her penchant for playing flighty, self-centred and kooky characters in those quirky New York based hipster romantic comedies from the likes of Noah Baumbach with whom she has regularly collaborated (Frances Ha, etc). Those annoying and irritating characteristics that were especially grating in the recent Mistress America are to the fore again in Continue reading
MISTRESS AMERICA
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Noah Baumbach Stars: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke, Heather Lind, Michael Chernus, Matthew Shear, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Kathryn Erbe, Cindy Cheung. The films of Noah Baumbach (the semi-autobiographical The Squid And The Whale, etc) are something of an acquired taste. Baumbach is a contemporary of Wes Anderson, and the two share a similar dry wit, cynicism, and a sharp way with pretentious, smart hipster dialogue. Apart from his Greenberg, which was set in California, Baumbach's films are set in his native New York, and they often have a Continue reading