15. Tesla (Michael Almereyda) Michael Almereyda’s film is the type of beast that sees Tesla (played by Ethan Hawke) break into karaoke of a Tears For Fears song when he’s down in the dumps. In yet another scene, the world’s first international theater star- Sarah Bernhardt- enters backstage with music from a rave playing behind her. To call this film anachronistic is an understatement. But its also deadly serious about its dedication in portraying the torturous moments of the brilliant inventor’s life and stacks an adventurous cast around him, especially in the chilly gaze of Eve Hewson (of The Knick … Continue reading My Favorite Movies of 2020

The idea of famous personalities converging in one starstruck place at the same time has been fertile stagecraft for decades. In the mid 1980’s, British filmmaker Nicholas Roeg adapted the play Insignificance by writer Terry Johnson that posited the idea of Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Joseph McCarthy winding around each other in a hotel over the course of one night. Johnson stated his inspiration stemmed from the fact an autograph of Einstein was found among Monroe’s possessions after her death. It’s an interesting film, but one that doesn’t quite deliver on Roeg’s previous visual panache and suffers … Continue reading Review: ‘One Night in Miami’

In one scene of Eugene Ashe’s Sylvie’s Love, the woman at the center of it all (Tessa Thompson) is used as a human model for her mother’s very prim and proper lecture on posture. A yardstick serves as her visual guide, gently tapping her daughter on each arch of the body. In the very next scene, those same shoulders and neck are about to be rubbed down with sunscreen as she and her jazz musician boyfriend Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha) relax together on a make believe beach rooftop. It’s a subtle edit, but one that exemplifies the chasm that exists between … Continue reading Review: ‘Sylvie’s Love’