Michael Phillips – Page 82

Christopher Plummer poses for a portrait on July 25, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Remembering Christopher Plummer for so much more than ‘The Sound of Music’

February 5, 2021 at 5:12 p.m.

When a profoundly gifted classical actor suddenly becomes famous for a middlebrow popular success, you can forgive that actor for needling or even trashing it a little. Or a lot,...

Even with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan front and center, little in the trailer of "The Dig" seemed particularly promising,? I gave it a go and it's good. Some of it's true, too: Along the east coast of Britain in 1939, with war clouds looming, self-taught Suffolk archeologist Basil Brown was hired by ailing widow Edith Pretty to discover if anything of value lay beneath the earth mounds on her property. There was indeed, and the remains and artifacts of a sixth-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship stunned the world. Fiennes is Basil; Mulligan is Edith; around the halfway point of director Simon Stone's film, the focus (for better or worse) shifts to others in the orbit of the excavation effort, particularly characters played by Lily James and Johnny Flynn. Based on the 2007 novel by John Preston, "The Dig" freely mixes fact and invention, overloading the crises a bit but generally succeeding. A fair amount of screenwriter Moira Buffini's dialogue plays out as Terrence Malick-styled voiceover, while the camera focuses on the stark beauty of the surroundings, and men and women actually doing the work. The results are trim, well-made and quite moving. So much for my prejudgments. (Netflix) — Michael Phillips

What we’re watching: From ‘The Dig’ on Netflix to Aaron Rodgers hosting ‘Jeopardy!’, including reader recommendations

February 11, 2021 at 12:39 p.m.

Wondering what to watch this week? Check out our weekly film and TV recommendations. We want to know what you're streaming, too. Click here to share your picks with us....

Column: Golden Globes nominations take two steps forward, three steps sideways

February 3, 2021 at 1:07 p.m.

Since this epic widescreen slog of a pandemic has taken over the direction of our viewing lives ("Scene 1: a couch") like some monocled tyrant in jodhpurs circa 1926, let's...

‘Bliss’ review: Salma Hayek introduces Owen Wilson to ‘Matrix’-adjacent living

February 3, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.

Writer-director Mike Cahilll's "Bliss" is about Greg, played by Owen Wilson, who can't seem to focus on his job at a firm called Technical Difficulties. Psychologically he too is having...

‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ review: Retelling the death of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton

February 4, 2021 at 12:53 p.m.

"Judas and the Black Messiah" is my kind of dramatized Chicago history. It's a real movie, for one thing — brash, narratively risky, full of life and sneaky wit (even...

Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, died at age 98 on Dec. 5, 2021.

Appreciation: Cicely Tyson rewrote Black heroism on screen, transcendently

January 29, 2021 at 12:32 p.m.

A great actor's screen breakthrough tells at least two stories. The triumphant one is about the skill and singularity that got that actor noticed, and led to the big break...

What we’re watching: From ‘Promising Young Woman’ to ‘Bling Empire’

February 4, 2021 at 4:12 p.m.

Wondering what to watch this weekend? Check out our weekly film and TV recommendations. We want to know what you're streaming, too. Click here to share your picks with us....

Once upon a time, Mike Nichols married Chicago singer Patricia Scot. Here’s their story.

January 29, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.

"Mike Nichols: A Life," a new biography by Mark Harris due out Tuesday, reveals a great deal about the Grammy-, Tony-, Oscar- and Emmy-winning director who got his start in...

Watch this. Eat that: Binge on the ‘Saved by the Bell’ with Big Kids takeout. It’s magic.

January 29, 2021 at 12:12 p.m.

Watch this: 'Saved by the Bell' Peacock's "Saved by the Bell" reboot is witty and funny, whether you grew up watching the students at Bayside High or you are just...

For Chicago Public Library’s ‘Live at the Library’ program, Matthew Broderick reads a book — which may be one more than Ferris Bueller ever did

February 2, 2021 at 4:41 p.m.

Since April, a month into the pandemic still plaguing us, the Chicago Public Library's virtual "Live at the Library" series has connected homebound kids and adults to a wide array...

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