Geez, don’t you kinda want to go live in Tuscany? It’s probably one of the most glorious spots Italy offers. You’ve sat through movies filmed in Tuscany. More than 30 films have been shot in one of Italy’s most beautiful and overused regions. You could be watching beautiful movie stars of multiple countries, sipping wine […]

Creator Debora Cahn’s (“The West Wing” writer) “The Diplomat” started streaming in late April, and has quickly moved to “Show of the Year” status, which is due primarily to Keri Russell, many if not most of you who are already fans. Let’s talk. Here in Cahn’s super-splendid political thriller, “The Diplomat,” Kate Wyler (Russell) is […]

“Writer-director Nicole Holofcener is the gift that keeps on giving. Consider her work, all of which features the gifts of Catherine Keener: ‘Walking and Talking,’ ‘Lovely and Amazing’ and the wonderful ‘Friends With Money.’ If you’re a Keener fan, welcome home. Happiness is a thing called Keener.” I wrote those words about Nicole Holofcener 2010 […]

How about this? Edmond Rostand’s perfect love story “Cyrano de Bergerac” on cellphones? “The Half of It” is a lovely, romantic film with a perfect cast and magical writing by filmmaker Alice Wu, who directs from her own screenplay. We first meet Ellie as she pedals furiously down a small town road. Ellie is a […]

We learned today that Kelly Reichardt, the writer and director of this film, “grew up in a family of police officers.” I can’t think of an another writer or directer who comes from such a family. I come from a similar family, and I suspect, based on my experience, that Reichardt may have been adopted, […]