Reading Time: 3 minutes Danny Boyle’s premise of a Beatle-less world is playful and witty, but hamstrung by romcom contrivances and paper-thin characters.
Andrew Spitznas
SECULAR CINEPHILE
Movies have been a lifelong consuming passion, with vivid childhood memories of staying up late for James Bond on TV and standing in line for the original Star Wars movie. I still watch the occasional multiplex blockbuster, but nowadays, my enthusiasm tends towards arthouse fare and thoughtful documentaries. Happiness is an audience Q&A at a film festival.
I strive to look at cinema through a secular humanist lens, with an eye towards social justice, equality, and life without a religious crutch. As a practicing psychiatrist for a quarter-century, I also love to explore psychological themes in movies.
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
At Last, a Sunny Day in “Deadwood”
Reading Time: 5 minutes Thirteen years after the superb TV series abruptly ended, we are privileged to return to the South Dakota mining town for one final visit.
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
“Never Look Away”: A Masterpiece of Artistry and Survival Through Nazism and Communism
Reading Time: 5 minutes From the director of the Oscar-winning East German police state drama “The Lives of Others,” this epic biographical drama considers how art and goodness can flourish despite suffering under totalitarianism.
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
The Conversion Therapy of “Cameron Post”
Reading Time: 4 minutes I draw on my own history as a therapist and ex-fundamentalist to comment on this new film starring Chloë Grace Moretz.
Posted inGeneral
Democratic Socialism, Southern Style
Reading Time: 4 minutes A conversation with local political candidate Dennis Prater
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
“Hearts Beat Loud”: A Refreshing Story of Everyday Goodness
Reading Time: 4 minutes Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons head up this charmer about a music-loving father and daughter facing changes.
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
“Hereditary”: The Horrifying Potential of Biological and Spiritual Inheritance
Reading Time: 3 minutes This debut feature from writer/director Ari Aster will be tough to top as the best horror film of 2018.
Posted inGeneral
Science Wars: The Last Republican President
Reading Time: 5 minutes On recent doings at the CDC, their implications for science and life in Trump’s America
Posted inFilm Reviews, A. Spitznas
Kid-Friendly Double Feature: “Coco” and “Wonder”
Reading Time: 6 minutes Each of these optimistic new films merit a family trip to the cinema.
Posted inGeneral
Fighting the Darkness: Reflections on a Counter-Protest Against White Hate in Knoxville
Reading Time: 5 minutes After Charlottesville and our non-president’s Nazi-coddling, I feel obligated to speak out and bear witness.