Barry Levinson

It’s hard to imagine what legendary director Barry Levinson and uber-cool demigod Bill Murray were thinking when they made ‘Rock the Kasbah.’

In 2009, New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani referred to Philip Roth’s novella The Humbling as “an overstuffed short story, […] a slight, disposable work about an aging man’s efforts to grapple with time and loss and mortality, and the frustrations of getting old.” In 2015, that sentiment rings just as true of Barry Levinson’s adaptation of the same work. The Humbling runs too long, dawdles too much, makes hollow caricatures of its women, and muddles its intentions. Its most redeeming features are its performances; Al Pacino is in top form, with Greta Gerwig playfully keeping up. But neither can elevate this failed attempt at pathos above what it is: bland.

When Homicide: Life on the Street premiered in January 1993 after the Super Bowl, it leaped into a different world than the standard hour-long dramas. There were a few exceptions like Hill Street Blues that provided an inspiration, but Creators Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana were entering uncharted territory. The cast lacks the typical pretty …

The Bay Directed by Barry Levinson Written by Michael Wallach For whatever reason, very few auteurs have emerged from the genre of the found-footage film. The team behind The Blair Witch Project flamed out after the first sequel; Paco Plaza has done well in his native Spain with three [REC] films, but his American remake …