It's easy to sit through this film. Both the performances and the direction are naturally very good. Still, the writing feels lost, wandering without a clear purpose. It’s hard to grasp what the central message is or what viewers should be getting from it. Considering its length, there’s a complete lack of development for the secondary characters. Within my collection of films by directors focusing on themselves (htt…

Gabriel LaBelle gives a strong performance in this mostly enjoyable and captivating story about a young man ("Sammy") coming of age in America after World War II, who has an interest in filmmaking. Raised in a seemingly idyllic setting with his mother "Mitzi" (Michelle Williams), father "Burt" (Paul Dano), and sister "Natalie" (Keeley Karsten), they seemed to get along well enough. His father works as a developer in …

“The Fabelmans” draws inspiration from Steven Spielberg’s childhood experiences, though presented as a fictionalized account. Coming after the passing of his mother, Leah Adler, the film uses a different family name to center on the director's upbringing and how his parents' divorce affected him. “The Fabelmans” offers insight into the influences behind well-known films like E.T., which shares thematic elements with …

I went into this film expecting some backlash, figuring maybe people were being overly critical because the director had achieved so much or because he stepped outside his usual action and sci-fi comfort zone. It's hard to understand how anyone could give it just one star, honestly. I’m giving it six stars, which is about as low a rating as I’d ever award a Spielberg film. The movie felt disjointed at times. We se…