Search for Fran

The era of the Universal classic monster movies lasted from 1931, when the studio released Dracula (featuring Bela Lugosi’s iconic portrayal), until 1948 when Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein took the venerable horror figures into parod...

It's amazing how many 19th century authors have received motion picture treatments of their lives - in fact, it may be fair to say that more modern-day movie-goers are seeing their screen stories than are reading their printed works. Bright Star c...

In this country, French movies are mostly known for being artistic and airy (or, to put it less kindly, serious and stodgy). And, while many French directors would probably agree that this is their aim (being artistic and airy, not serious and sto...

Burnt by the Sun, the winner of 1995's Best Foreign Film Oscar, attempts, with only limited success, to combine two segments of radically different pacing and temperament. The movie's resolution represents forty-five minutes of taut, arresting dra...

Guilt and paranoia - two powerful cornerstones of the human psyche. In his latest, award-winning drama (it has captured about a dozen significant international citations), writer/director Michael Haneke explores both, although the manner in which ...

Call Me by Your Name, the latest film from Italian director Luca Guadagnino, is a study in mood and emotion. It’s about living in the moment and capturing that moment. It’s about using the canvas of film to convey to the audience the inner...

There are times when the reputation of a film outstrips the movie itself. Cannibal Holocaust is an example. To some, this is the most disgusting, offensive motion picture ever given an international release. To others, it is a brilliant example of...

Caramel could easily be dubbed a Lebanese version of Salon. The movie, the directorial debut of writer/director/actress Nadine Labaki, follows the lives and loves of five women whose paths criss-cross in Beirut. As is often the case with ensemble...

Carnage is a French dark comedy made with an A-list cast and filmed in English. Adapted from the play God of Carnage by the play's scribe, Yasmina Reza, and director Roman Polanski, Carnage makes no attempt to "open up" the stage production. With t...

Carol is a haunting motion picture - the kind of film that stays with the viewer long after the multiplex’s neon signage has disappeared from the rear-view mirror. Despite having a deceptively simple storyline, the film is entirely unlike any o...