In a circus tale by author Tod Robbins—a setting familiar to Browning—a trio of criminal ex-carnies and a pickpocket form a jewelry theft ring. Their activities lead to a murder and an attempt to frame an innocent bookkeeper. Two of the criminal quartet reveal their humanity and are redeemed; two perish through violent justice. The […]

Art and Craft Film: the convergence of art and craft in old Hollywood movies. Sweeping the audience away with a make-believe world that’s  as familiar as everyday life and yet also darker, bgger,  brghter, more poetic and spectacular than everyday life. The tension betwen our olives and our dreams (rather than product placement, directors ego, […]

Intriguingly bold albeit flawed, Vox Lux probes the allures and pitfalls of modern celebrity, starring Oscar winner Natalie Portman.

Among the positive reviews, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that the film was “conspicuously different” from the novel and had “some strange confusions of style and mood,” but nevertheless had “a rare power, a garbled but often moving push toward an off-beat communication.” Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it […]