While children factor into many of the director’s works, two sets of films from each movement in his career stand out. From his time at Shochiku are the films “Children in the Wind,” “Four Seasons of Children: Spring/Summer,” and “Four Seasons of Children: Autumn/Winter,” which relay two years in the life of brothers Zenta (Masao … Read more
“Laurel and Hardy: Year One,” a definitive and essential two-disc Blu-ray set out now from Flicker Alley, collects “The Lucky Dog” along with the first 15 shorts in which they both appeared. The shorts, released primarily in 1927, witness the evolution and blossoming of their partnership. In Leonard Maltin’s Movie Comedy Teams, Billy Gilbert, who … Read more
These moments are buoyed by smart writing (“Expanse” authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham assisted with the story) and nuanced performances, particularly from Gee. Twist your ears around the staccato space creole of the Belter’s native language and terminology—“felota,” “bosmang”—and you’ll find a tender, engrossing, frequently exciting story about a crew revealing their true colors … Read more
Before Mark Hamill made his return as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakensthe last time we saw the character was in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Given the decades of history that took place between those two movies, it’s only natural that Lucasfilm would want to explore it. We’ve seen bits and … Read more
The crisis in “Everything Went Fine” begins in the first moment. Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau) sits at a table in her apartment, working. The phone rings. She listens to the caller, whom we don’t hear. She asks, “When? Where?” and then promptly races out the door. Her father has had a stroke, and the caller is … Read more