6 years ago
All posts by Odie Henderson
NYFF Review: “Mia Madre”
Mia Madre, the latest film from Cannes festival darling, Nanni Moretti, is a companion piece of sorts to his 2001 Palm d’Or-winner, The Son’s Room. That film, which dealt with the loss of a child, is the more emotionally successful affair; a parent burying the...
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“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What happened, Miss Simone? Specifically, what happened to your big eyes that quickly veil to hide the loneliness? To your voice, that has so little tenderness, yet overflows with your commitment to the battle of Life? What happened to you?” —Maya Angelou
Eu...
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“Gueros”
Gueros is one of those debut features that’s three parts homage and two parts “look at what I can do” calling card. It’s the kind of movie critics rhapsodize over for paragraphs on end, until it almost makes you feel guilty about your own less passionate respo...
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“I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story”
On merit alone, I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story is a profoundly moving documentary. But if you grew up with "Sesame Street" in the 70s and 80s, you may find yourself experiencing an extra, particularly overwhelming set of emotions. Through an endless a...
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30 Years of Road-Tripping: “Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird”
My partner in crime, Steven Boone, recently met Luis from Sesame Street on the MTA subway. Since MTA trains are denoted by a letter or a number, Sesame Street was literally brought to Boone by one of the items that has “sponsored” the show since 1969. Luis to...
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All That Glitters Isn’t Gold: The 25th Anniversary of “Pretty Woman”
Vivian Ward is the one Disney princess you won’t find roaming the grounds of the Magic Kingdom or Epcot; the prince with whom she rode off into the sunset saved her from a life of servitude far more salacious than anything her fellow princesses endured. Ward i...
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“Hot Tub Time Machine 2”
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 commits the two biggest sins of the dudebro comedy genre legitimized by the success of The Hangover series. The first is that this sequel exists at all. This film’s necessity comes courtesy of the uncanny way studios package their greed ...
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TIFF Review – “Electric Boogaloo”: Shooting Nostalgia Out of a Cannon
The hexagonal Cannon Group logo should be familiar to anyone who wasted their 80’s-era adolescence at the movie theater. Its appearance onscreen became so ubiquitous in Reagan-era America that the mere sight of it evoked memories of an old friend coming to vis...
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History of Film: “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”
I’ve always wondered about the scroll of words at the beginning of 1964’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. They’re so important they precede the Columbia Pictures lady:
“It is the stated position of the U.S. Air Force th...
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“Million Dollar Arm” Throws a Neat Double Play
Disney has cornered the market on “based on a true story” sports movies. Million Dollar Arm is their latest contribution to the genre that includes Cool Runnings, The Rookie and Remember the Titans, among others. Their patented studio recipe is evident: Combin...
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