Currently Browsing: July 2015
Delightful documentary about Sophie Tucker, another whip-smart Jewish girl who made good in Die Goldene Medina–the golden country–of 20th Century America. (JLH: 4/5) ************************* Kudos to internet entrepreneurs Lloyd & Susan Ecker for turning their retirement years into a three-way love affair with Sophie Tucker! Starting small after selling their babytobee.com company in 2006, the Eckers are now developing […]
Berlin 1945. A woman returns from Auschwitz with only one goal: Find her husband. Despite being told that he was the one who betrayed her hiding place to the Nazis–she is Jewish, he is not–she still loves him. To say I hated Phoenix–a film as subtle as its title–would be an understatement. (JLH: 2/5) ************************* Phoenix […]
The Stanford Prison Experiment is set at Stanford University in August of 1971. While most of his colleagues and their students are away for the summer, Professor Philip Zimbardo (perfectly played by actor Billy Crudup) turns a floor of offices into a mock prison. He then hires twenty-four Stanford students–all male–to populate his prison. Twelve will be guards, […]
A moving and emotional documentary by Asif Kapadia about exceptionally talented jazz singer Amy Winehouse. The film follows her music and struggles, as her rise to fame ultimately becomes too much to handle. (JEP 3.5/5) Review by Contributing Editor Jessica E. Perry Directed by Asif Kapadia, Amy is artfully constructed using home video footage, photos, […]
Congratulations to my friend David Chack for successfully shepherding the second annual Chicago Jewish Film Festival team. Below is my post for the JUF. This was the first post of mine–in almost 5 years–that hit the top position in the JUF’s list of “Most Popular Articles,” so I call this a win/win/win/win/win for the CJFF & […]
I am so wrapped up in seeing new films since my move to Brooklyn that I rarely get the chance–or even have the desire–to do much else. But a visit from our friends Mary Lou & George was just the excuse I needed to check an item off my Bucket List… I live by a […]