Babies Can Learn the Value of Persistence by Watching Grownups Stick With a Challenge-
TORONTO—Anastasia Lin received global media attention after she won the Miss World Canada title in 2015 but was denied the chance to compete in the finals held in China—her own country of birth—for speaking out about human rights violations in that country. Her principled stance and courage to continue drawing attention to grave abuses by […] -
Once a senior intelligence officer and manager with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Michel Juneau-Katsuya doesn’t mince words when it comes to China’s Confucius Institutes. “They’re spies, period,” Juneau-Katsuya said. “There are many countries and many intelligence services that concur with our conclusions that, unfortunately, this was a Trojan horse.” Juneau-Katsuya, who worked at CSIS […] -
By now, there should be no debating that Angelina Jolie is a talented director, capable of handling the most challenging subject matter with assurance and sensitivity. Those who continue to denigrate her skills because she’s also a movie star and tabloid fixture are running out of ammunition. There also should be no debating the value […] -
R | 1h 51min | Action, Thriller | 15 September 2017 (USA) Well-written spy novels have always been ridiculously addictive. There’s a related genre now; I call it “operator porn.” It’s not about debonair, James Bond-type, tuxedo-under-wetsuit-wearing spies, but rather wetsuit-wearing, ultra-tough Navy SEALS and deadly Army Delta Force operators. These genres overlap in the same […] -
TORONTO—The documentary “The China Hustle,” which premiered recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, shows how hundreds of Chinese companies listed on North American stock exchanges can cause billions of losses to investors due to lack of proper oversight. These Chinese firms enter the U.S. stock market through reverse takeovers with American companies and […] -
“The Teacher” combines critically examines of the Communist experience and its effect on the day to day—here on children and their parents. -
R | 1h 58min | Action, Comedy | 18 August 2017 (USA) Remember that scene in 1993’s “In the Line of Fire” when the CIA assassin (John Malkovich) snaps at the Secret Service agent (Clint Eastwood)? “The same government that trained me to kill, trained you to protect. Yet now you want to kill me—while […]
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PG-13 | 1h 46min | Action, Drama, History | 21 July 2017 (USA) Go ahead and put “Dunkirk” in the same class as “Apocalypse Now,” “Platoon,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Braveheart.” The only difference is that those four premiere war movies contain brief flashes of levity and even fun, whereas “Dunkirk” is one long, sustained note […] -
Oscar Foreign film contender “The Fencer” tells the true story of Endel Nelis who, to escape a Stalin purge, goes undercover as a teacher in a small town. -
R | 1h 52min | Action, Crime, Music | 28 June 2017 (USA) Heist/romance movie “Baby Driver” is a mashup of “The Fast and the Furious,” “Rain Man,” and “Cinderella” containing arguably the most electrifying non-digital, straight-up stunt driving (compliments of pro stunt driver Jeremy Fry) of any car-based movie to date—and certainly the most […] -
Highly recommended for patrons of historical dramas and tragic fact-based thrillers, "13 Minutes" opens June 30, at the Lincoln Plaza. -
An emotionally overwhelming documentary, "Waiting for the Sun" is very highly recommended: June 15 & 16, at 2017 AFI Docs Film Festival. -
Physical-comedy team Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon have created a tribute to romance in Paris, in their own idiosyncratic way, in "Lost in Paris." -
There oughta be a 4-foot sign at “Captain Underpants” that you stand next to that says “You must be this short to enter.” Speaking of short, this’ll be my shortest review ever; I’m going to sum up the entire movie by telling you the name of a character therein: “P.P. Die-uh-ree-ah-stein Poo-pee-pants.” I may have spelled […] -
Documentarian Steve James delivers a stinging indictment of an unjust prosecution/persecution in "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail." -
Thirty-seven years before the publication of the Ted Chiang novella that would be adapted as “The Arrival,” polish author Stanisław Lem had already grappled with the challenges of human communication with radically dissimilar life forms. However, some of those themes of his novel were overshadowed by a more fundamental examination of what it means to […] -
For many, the Voyager Program is best remembered as the inspiration for the rogue probe V’Ger in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” That is rather sad, because but its true legacy is much more significant. There were only two Voyagers launched, but they radically reshaped our vision of our galaxy. The scientists who were and […] -
Bay Area residents should absolutely not pass up the chance to see “Xiu Xiu: the Sent-Down Girl" April 8, at the San Francisco International Film Festival. -
R | 1 hour 40 min | Action, Comedy, Crime | 24 March 2017 (USA) Dax Shepard is a Hollywood “triple-threat”—an actor who acts, writes, and directs (the New York triple-threat acts, sings, and dances). He also races (and stunt rides) top-end Ducati motorcycles—so who better to make a movie version of the 1970s motorcycle […] -
François Ozon is an unusually prolific and generally reliable filmmaker, but “Frantz” represents one of his most assured works. -
Given the more rigid social norms, it must be especially difficult coming to terms with personal and professional failure in conservative Japan, but at least Ryota Shinoda has a lot of experience with it. He has not written a word since the publication of his award-winning debut novel fifteen years ago and is now in […] -
“Ugetsu” is one of a handful of Japanese films that prove supernatural “horror” films can indeed reach the level of high art. -
Michael Tucker often serves as the director of photography on the documentaries he co-directs with his wife and creative partner, Petra Epperlein, but he has an unusual co-cinematographer on their latest project: the dreaded East German Stasi. Archival surveillance footage from the old days of socialism eerily supplement and illustrate Epperlein’s painful family history in […] -
Haixu Liu’s short film “Beyond the Curtain” screens during this year’s Winter Film Awards. -
"Bitter Harvest" has the epic tragedy of its obvious role model film, "Doctor Zhivago." -
Very highly recommended, “Kaputt/Broken” won the Short Film Jury Award for Animation at this year’s Sundance. -
Mention the name “Joshua Wong,” and anyone vaguely interested in the Umbrella Movement and other pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong over the last four years will remember a skinny kid with rectangular black framed glasses. Wong the high school student-activist turned college activist-politician, remains one of the most iconic public figures in Hong Kong today. […]
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