Movie Reviews

In Brief: If you’ve never seen a Luis Buñuel film, it’s high time you did, and this 1972 Oscar winner about six middle-class people and their interrupted efforts to have a meal together is a good place to start. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is more accessible than some of Buñuel’s work and might just…

In Brief: When The Young in Heart (1938) showed up on the list of January titles for the Hendersonville Film Society, I not only realized I hadn’t seen it, I’d never heard of it — something that seemed unlikely from that year and with that cast. So I was interested to see it and fill in…

The Story: Dick Cheney goes from drunken college dropout to master manipulator as he shrewdly usurps the authority of the most powerful position in the free world. The Lowdown:  A divisive film for a divided nation.

The Story: A grocery store manager lands her dream job by faking her resume and credentials. The Lowdown: A typical romantic comedy, only with all the cringe-worthy and annoying elements removed.

The Story: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bungle their way through an investigation as they attempt to prevent the assassination of Queen Victoria. The Lowdown: Yes, it's insipid to the point of self-parody — but it's also not as bad as advertised.

In Brief: Manon of the Spring (1986) is the sequel — or more properly, second part — of Jean de Florette (1986). In essence, this film tells the rest of the story — what happens after Jean de Florette (Gérard Depardieu) dies. The film takes place 10 years later with Jean’s daughter Manon (Emmanuelle Béart) fully grown, living more…

In Brief: Well, it does boast two of the greatest — possibly the greatest — actresses of 1960s and ’70s British film in Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson, but let's be honest, this is a thoroughly respectable British prestige picture from the folks who brought you the even more respectable Anne of a Thousand Days…