Toronto 2013: 'Philomena' Review

One of the more buzzed-about titles from Venice was Philomena, the latest film from Stephen Frears (The Queen). It tells the true story of an older woman (Judi Dench) trying to hunt down the son she had to give up when she was only 18. Steve Coogan (who co-wrote the script) plays the journalist writing an article about her quest. My impression is that this true story is much better known in the U.K. than it is in the U.S., so for us in the States, Philomena will play a little more like a detective story. I caught the film in Toronto, and my review is up at Paste.

Sundance 2012: 'Lay the Favorite' review

Rebecca Hall is a good actress, but she should never, ever play a ditzy Florida stripper who moves to Vegas and ends up getting sucked into the world of professional sports gambling. Oops, too late, she already did. The film is Lay the Favorite, which is directed by Stephen Frears and also stars Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's a comedy that sees its milieu as one filled with adorable caricatures. It's not a pretty sight. My review is up at Screen International.

the queen

The Stephen Frears movie is great, even if you don't care at all about the royal family. Also in Consumables, the Hold Steady and the Pogues make beautiful music (but not together).