In general, the movies have a pretty spotty record for portraying mental illness; for every nuanced take like “Two Days, One Night,” there’s a "Silver Linings Playbook," treating its characters’ emotional disorders as an obstacle that can be overcome if they’re just plucky enough. Falling somewhere in the middle is writer-director Maya Forbes’ semi-autobiographical drama, […]
Adam Lubitow
Film critic for CITY Newspaper, writer, iced coffee addict, and dinosaur enthusiast.
Posted inMovies
First views
Each year, hundreds of films are released into theaters in the United States (nearly 700 in 2014, according to the records at Box Office Mojo), encompassing everything from giant blockbusters to micro-budgeted indie releases. As Rochesterians, we’re pretty lucky to have some fantastic independent movie theaters which are dedicated to bringing arthouse films to local […]
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Film Review: “Ant-Man”
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe grows ever larger (and if “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is any indication, more unwieldy) it comes as something of a relief that the latest chapter chooses to take a step back from all that world-expanding to tell a relatively small-scale story. With “Ant-Man,” Marvel deviates ever-so-slightly from their house style, […]
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Film Review: “Self/less”
From Jennifer Lopez’s twisted, eye-popping journey inside the mind of a serial killer in “The Cell,” to a lavish love letter to storytelling itself with “The Fall,” the films of Tarsem Singh have demonstrated his admirable commitment to crafting some beautifully bonkers eye candy. Even “Immortals,” Singh’s dip into sword-and-sandal epics, managed to distinguish itself […]
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A life in music
City Newspaper spoke with “Amy” producer James Gay-Rees about exploring the life of Amy Winehouse.
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The 15th Annual JCC Rochester Jewish Film Festival
The Rochester Jewish Film Festival celebrates its 15th year with one of its largest festivals.
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Film Review: “Magic Mike XXL”
Summer is when the big studios bring out their biggest, most compulsively crowd-pleasing entertainments. The films of the season are less concerned with delving into the human condition than making sure you and your friends have a good time (they’d also like your money, please and thank you). Fall is when we go to the […]
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Film Review: “Amy”
The 2011 death of singer Amy Winehouse didn’t come as a shock to anyone. A young woman with a big talent matched only by the size of her beehive and even larger reputation for hard living, Winehouse rose to fame with the release of her second album “Back to Black,” which turned her stingingly autobiographical […]
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Film Review: “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence”
Described by Swedish director Roy Andersson as the third part in his trilogy of films about “being a human being,” the surreal “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence” is a comedy for existentialists. The film unfolds as a series of vignettes (ranging from one to 10 minutes), filmed in a single, static […]
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Film Review: “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence”
Described by Swedish director Roy Andersson as the third part in his trilogy of films about “being a human being,” the surreal “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence” is a comedy for existentialists. The film unfolds as a series of vignettes (ranging from one to 10 minutes), filmed in a single, static […]
Posted inMovies
Film Review: “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
The most recent film to attain the increasingly less rare sweep of both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance (“Whiplash” did it last year and “Fruitvale Station” before that), "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" can sometimes feel like the ultimate “Sundance” movie: a cutesy tone applied to a tear-jerking story, […]
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Film Review: “Inside Out”
By now we’ve hopefully gotten past the ridiculous idea that animation is strictly for kids and accepted it as a versatile medium that allows filmmakers the means to tell stories which wouldn’t be physically possible (or would simply be too expensive) with a live-action film. Take Pixar’s astonishing new film, “Inside Out,” whose protagonists are […]
