R | 1h 55min | Drama, Romance, Mystery | 9 December 2022 (USA)
One of the smallest of all sub-genres, “movies about movies” are usually packed to the rafters with loads of inside baseball industry jargon (which is not necessarily a bad thing if you’re a film junkie) and generally don’t fare well with the masses.
Some of the few standouts in this elite group are “Sunset Boulevard,” “8 ½,” “Stardust Memories,” “The Player,” and “Hugo.” Also on this short list is “Cinema Paradiso” (1988) by Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, and it is very close, content wise, with this breathtaking new film from director Sam Mendes.
Mendes in Top Form
One of the scant few directors to win an Oscar for their debut feature (“American Beauty”), Mendes followed it with the equally impressive “Road to Perdition,” then made a few misfires before returning to tip-top form with the best Daniel Craig-era James Bond flick (“Skyfall”) and the emotionally-draining World War I stunner “1917.”…