Howie Movshovitz
Film CriticHowie Movshovitz came to Colorado in 1966 as a VISTA Volunteer and never wanted to leave. After three years in VISTA, he went to graduate school at CU-Boulder and got a PhD in English, focusing on the literature of the Middle Ages.
In the middle of that process, though (and he still loves that literature) he got sidetracked into movies, made three shorts, started writing film criticism and wound up teaching film at the University of Colorado-Denver. He continues to teach in UCD鈥檚 College of Arts & Media.
He has been reviewing films on public radio since 1976 (first review: Robert Altman鈥檚 Buffalo Bill and the Indians). Along the way he spent nine years as the film critic of The Denver Post, and has been contributing features on film subjects to NPR since 1987.
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鈥楾is the season, for many things, and among them are movies that mark the holiday season. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz wants to mention two films made during World War II that celebrate the holidays, but are also touching and exceptional entertainments. -
The 47th Denver Film Festival opens today with a lineup of 188 films total, 115 of them feature-length documentaries or dramatic films. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz said he鈥檚 seen some of the movies in the festival and has a few suggestions. -
The new movie Lee, starring Kate Winslet, tells about the life of famed American photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller. Miller lived an astonishing life from the 1920s into the 鈥�70s, but KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz, says the story never quite jells, although the film often looks rich and full. -
The 51st Telluride Film Festival ended on Monday evening. Compared to other famous festivals, like Cannes or Berlin, Telluride is tiny 鈥� it runs for just four days over Labor Day weekend. Telluride does not reveal its schedule in advance. The audience comes on trust 鈥� many say it鈥檚 simply the best festival in the world. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz agrees. -
Besides his many famous movies, Martin Scorsese has also made films about films 鈥� personal journeys, as he鈥檚 called them, through American and Italian movies. His new work, Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, explores the collaboration of two of the world鈥檚 greatest filmmakers, who are no longer well-known. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz says Scorsese again shows his remarkable knowledge and understanding. -
The new documentary 'Copa 71' looks at the status of women鈥檚 soccer over the past 115 years or so, with a focus on the first FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup played in 1971. But the film is about a lot more than the game of soccer. -
Richard Linklater is not one of the superstar filmmakers, but since 1988, he鈥檚 made 35 movies. He鈥檚 one of the key independent filmmakers of the 1990s who鈥檚 still doing significant work now. For KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz, Linklater鈥檚 unobtrusive style has never been so powerful as in his new picture Hit Man, about someone who鈥檚 not exactly what he seems 鈥� or maybe he is. -
The new movie Humane from Caitlin Cronenberg is a brave effort to create a horror film based in modern climate woes. It's compelling at the start but fails to maintain depth as the movie winds on. -
In 1975, just months before the celebration of the American bicentennial, Robert Altman released his film Nashville. At the time, it was taken as a provocative statement about this country. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz says that the reactions of his students indicate this 49-year-old movie still holds its power. -
The 28th Denver Jewish Film Festival opens on March 9 with eight days of films and events relating to Jewish life and the Jewish experience rooted in the present and the past. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz says that the festival takes on particular importance amid a time of rising anti-Semitism and conflict.
