In Which We Serve (1942)

The Harmonists, directed by Joseph Vilsmaier, is the “based-on-a-true story” story of The Comedian Harmonists, an immensely popular singing group in pre-war Germany that eventually had to break up, as three of its six members were Jewish. Like nearly every other film set in its time and place, this one is ultimately sucked into the…

Dirty Work, directed by Bob Saget, is utterly without redeeming features: boring, stupid and unfunny. Even my two sub-teen boys thought it was bad, and worse than that movies like this do not get. Discover more from James Bowman Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email. Type your email… Subscribe

The Blessed Virgin as drug smuggler? It’s OK, folks, as long as her own drug of choice is the blessed freedom — and wealth — of America

Daniel Burman’s Lost Embrace (El Abrazo Partido) is on one level an ethnic drama about Jewish exile (in Argentina) and on another a more universal tale of growing up and coming to terms with one’s parents for the first time as an adult. Both themes come together as the film’s hero, Ariel Makaroff (Daniel Hendler),…

Yet another showcase of British acting talent turns out to be pretty good as a movie too.

The same trick which made Open Your Eyes a rather clever movie is also tried, in a somewhat cruder form, in The Thirteenth Floor, directed by Josef Rusnak. Unfortunately, in both cases the critic must refrain from revealing the trick, lest he spoil your enjoyment, though without revealing it the critic is almost completely unable…