THE ART OF THE MATTER – Part One: Movie Reviews of The Meyorwitz Stories (Both New and Old), Rebel in the Rye, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold by Howard Casnef

Posted: December 10, 2017 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Catcher in the Rye, Claes Bang, Danny Strong, Dominic West, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Moss, Emma Thompson, Griffin Dunne, Hope Davis, J.D. Salinger, Joan Didion: the Center Will Not Hold, Kevin Spacey, Nicholas Hault, Noah Baumbach, Rebel in the Rye, Ruben Outland, Sarah Paulson, The Meyerwitz Stories (Both Old and New), The Square, Vanessa Redgrave, Victor Garber, Whit Burnett | 8,252 Comments »

For questions: hcasner@aol.com

First, a word from our sponsors: I am now offering a new service: so much emphasis has been given lately to the importance of the opening of your screenplay, I now offer coverage for the first twenty pages at the cost of $20.00. For those who don’t want to have full coverage on their screenplay at this time, but want to know how well their script is working with the opening pages, this is perfect for you. I’ll help you not lose the reader on page one.

Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

The Meyerwitz Stories (Both Old and New) opened both on the Netflix streaming platform and in the theaters at the same time. The goal, as I surmise it, it to have a qualifying run for the Oscar race (and screeners have been sent) while giving it as little theatrical distribution as possible.

Sort of like having your cake and eating it to.

It’s hard to say, but I’m not sure they have that strong a chance. Many voters might feel like this is cheating (and Cannes refused to show any Netflix product).

But The Meyerwitz Stories…, written and directed by the intelligent and erudite Noah Baumbach, is quite good, even quite marvelous and definitely deserves an audience. Read the rest of this entry »

WHITE MEN’S BURDENS: Movie Reviews of Suburbicon, Victoria and Abdul and Brad’s Status by Howard Casner

Posted: November 13, 2017 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ali Fazal, Ben Stiller, Brad’s Status, Eddie Izzard, Ethan Cohen, Gary Basaraba, George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Joel Cohen, Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, Lee Hall, Luke Wilson, Matt Damon, Michael Gambon, Michael Sheen, Mike White, Oscar Isaacs, Paul Higgins, Shrabani Bash, Stephen Frears, Suburbicon | 135 Comments »

First, a word from our sponsors: I am now offering a new consultation service: so much emphasis has been given lately to the importance of the opening of your screenplay, I now offer coverage for the first twenty pages at the cost of $20.00. For those who don’t want to have full coverage on their screenplay at this time, but want to know how well their script is working with the opening pages, this is perfect for you. I’ll help you not lose the reader on page one.

Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

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Suburbicon, the new postmodern, neo-noir written by Joel and Ethan Cohen, Grant Heslov, and the film’s director George Clooney (perhaps two writers too many), is probably best described as if the Cohen brothers had adapted a James Cain novel with a bit of A Raison in the Sun tossed in for good measure.

The basic premise is that seemingly mild mannered middle class family man Gardner (Matt Damon) has paid some thugs to break into his house pretending to rob it, but in reality they have been hired to kill Gardner’s wheelchair bound wife (Julianne Moore) for the insurance money and so he can marry his sister-in-law (Julianne Moore redux), who has a set of perfectly good legs thank you very much. Read the rest of this entry »

GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO: Movie reviews of While We’re Young and Cupcakes by Howard Casner

Posted: April 16, 2015 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Stiller, Charles Grodin, Cupcakes, Eli Bijaoui, Eytan Fox, Naomi Watts, Noah Baumbach, Peter Yarrow, While We’re Young | 7,528 Comments »

First, a word from our sponsors. Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay? Check out my new e-book published on Amazon: Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, including my series of essays, What I Learned Reading for Contests This Year, and my film reviews of 2013. Only $2.99. http://ow.ly/xN31r

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

There is much to like in writer/director Noah Baumbach’s musing on growing older, though not necessarily wiser, in his new film While We’re Young.

It’s almost never less than entertaining. And it’s a technically solid piece of work. Baumbach, as a director, feels fully in control of the how the movie looks. As a writer, the characters are often very well drawn and the dialog has a nice rhythmic feel to it, a sort of stylized realism of people from an intellectual background.

At the same time, I’m not sure the movie really comes together as a whole in a fully satisfactory manner. For me, the story itself seemed to flounder at times as it was trying to figure out just what is was supposed to be about.

Overall, my feelings were often those of puzzlement. Is While We’re Young a modern day version of All About Eve that constantly gets off subject, or is it a generation gap morality tale that Baumbach had difficulty finding a strong structure for and sorta, kinda tried to fit it into that of the great film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz? Read the rest of this entry »

THE ART OF THE MATTER – Part One: Movie Reviews of The Meyorwitz Stories (Both New and Old), Rebel in the Rye, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold by Howard Casnef

For questions: hcasner@aol.com

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

The Meyerwitz Stories (Both Old and New) opened both on the Netflix streaming platform and in the theaters at the same time. The goal, as I surmise it, it to have a qualifying run for the Oscar race (and screeners have been sent) while giving it as little theatrical distribution as possible.

Sort of like having your cake and eating it to.

It’s hard to say, but I’m not sure they have that strong a chance. Many voters might feel like this is cheating (and Cannes refused to show any Netflix product).

But The Meyerwitz Stories…, written and directed by the intelligent and erudite Noah Baumbach, is quite good, even quite marvelous and definitely deserves an audience. Read the rest of this entry »

WHITE MEN’S BURDENS: Movie Reviews of Suburbicon, Victoria and Abdul and Brad’s Status by Howard Casner

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

Blu3B33tl3

GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO: Movie reviews of While We’re Young and Cupcakes by Howard Casner

and check out my Script Consultation Services: http://ow.ly/HPxKE

Warning: SPOILERS

There is much to like in writer/director Noah Baumbach’s musing on growing older, though not necessarily wiser, in his new film While We’re Young.

At the same time, I’m not sure the movie really comes together as a whole in a fully satisfactory manner. For me, the story itself seemed to flounder at times as it was trying to figure out just what is was supposed to be about.

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