Amanda Seyfried

The Testament of Ann Lee

The Testament of Ann Lee

The Testament of Ann Lee takes a promising premise—an 18th‑century spiritual revolt told as a musical—and beautifully depicts the period with care but frustratingly turns the Shakers’ ceremony and prayers into a repetitive, tiring, and sad film. The film traces Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again, First Reformed), founder of the…

Mank

Mank

MANK You open the Netflix app, and most movies are not made for someone like me, a fully developed and functioning, cynical adult who watches films.  Netflix caters to teenagers through thirty-somethings. Content contains loads of coming-of-age, young romance, teenage angst, and British films.  I watch a lot of it, enjoy it, but it doesn’t…

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN The Anomaly: An anomaly is defined as a departure from the normal order, something that is peculiar, irregular or difficult to explain. Discoveries in science, for instance, are sometimes pushed forward by anomalies since anomalies can give you a fresh perspective on something. An anomaly must be what happened…

First Reformed

First Reformed

FIRST REFORMED Paul Schrader wrote and directed the drama First Reformed when he was 71 years old. Mr. Schrader’s earlier successful screenplays were Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), both directed by Martin Scorsese. For First Reformed Paul Schrader both wrote and directed this movie, and he gets dark. First Reformed’s protagonist, Reverend Toller,…