Esther Zuckerman
Posts
Ava DuVernay and Other Directors Rethink Holocaust Films
Tragic tellings of the Shoah are all too common. The directors of “The Zone of Interest,” “Origin” and “Occupied City” refuse to let it live...
Can a Rom-Com Make Sense in Dark Times? Yes, When It’s From This Master.
Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves” is both magical and despairing, born of what the Finnish auteur’s stars say is an unusual shooting approach.
For ‘Napoleon,’ Finishing the Hats
Inside the creation of one emperor’s famous headwear, as worn by Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s film.
Are ‘Elf’ and ‘Love Actually’ the Last Holiday Classics We’ll Ever Get?
The two comedies opened on the same date in 2003 and have stood the test of time. A changing Hollywood landscape might make another such...
What Hollywood Gets Right and Wrong About B’nai Mitzvah
The Jewish ceremony can be the setting for a sharp look at growing up. But it has too often been used for glosses that ignore...
The Toughest ‘Barbie’ Movie Critics Are Barbie Collectors
These longtime fans of the doll had high expectations, and concerns, for her big-screen live-action debut.
How the ‘Spider-Verse’ Movies Have Changed Animation for the Better
The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and other C.G.I. cartoons are taking a looser, imperfect approach. The style represents a shift made possible by...
Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and Joel Edgerton on Paul Schrader Films
Joel Edgerton, Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke explain how they worked with the writer-director, known for solitary characters grappling with sin and redemption.
A New Kelly Reichardt Movie? These Actors Keep Showing Up
The director Kelly Reichardt has developed something of a troupe of performers who are eager to work with her time and time again. A few...
A John Wick Action Scene, Step by Step
Look behind the scenes at the climactic sequence in “John Wick: Chapter 4,” set on 222 steps leading up to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Paris.