Steve Persall
Tampa Bay Times
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Past articles by Steve:
Persall: Upon retirement, a look back at a star-quality career
Do you see what I did there? The comma and extra "E" in my byline? One last pun, just for fun. It’s the end, fin in French, and something unfortunately ruder in Swedish. Time to retire, nearly 25 years to the day after starting work as the Times’ movie critic. That’s how long I pledged to stay if hired in 1993. Nobody believed it. I couldn’t blame them. Now that it’s over, I can’t believe it… → Read More
Why it’d be even scarier to watch John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place’ at home instead of in theater
A Quiet Place is where John Krasinskis hushed experiment in terror should be watched, not at multiplexes where silence is easily broken.Krasinskis movie wrings fright from silence so well that he a → Read More
Why it’d be even scarier to watch John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place’ at home instead of in theater
A Quiet Place is where John Krasinskis hushed experiment in terror should be watched, not at multiplexes where silence is easily broken.Krasinskis movie wrings fright from silence so well that he a → Read More
Ready Player One,’ all retro references and CGI dazzle, lacks emotional pull of Spielberg classics
After two hours of pop clutter and video game clatter, Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One has the audacity to proclaim reality matters. Kind of like a snuff film with an end note saying murder is ba → Read More
Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs’ is even more visually fantastic than Mr. Fox.’ Is that a good thing?
Isle of Dogs is an oronym, a phrase sounding like another, in this case → Read More
Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs’ is even more visually fantastic than Mr. Fox.’ Is that a good thing?
Isle of Dogs is an oronym, a phrase sounding like another, in this case → Read More
Ready Player One,’ all retro references and CGI dazzle, lacks emotional pull of Spielberg classics
After two hours of pop clutter and video game clatter, Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One has the audacity to proclaim reality matters. Kind of like a snuff film with an end note saying murder is ba → Read More
Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane’ is a thriller recorded on iPhone 7s
If you think Steven Soderbergh is talented with a movie camera, you should see what he does with a cellphone in Unsane.The Academy Award winning directors latest experiment is a cuckoos nest thrill → Read More
Gasparilla and Jewish film fests combine, hoping two is better than one
Tampa Bay’s film festival season is now a double feature with two long-running events splicing their audiences together. For its 12th edition, the Suncoast Credit Union Gasparilla Internationa → Read More
What to know for the Gasparilla International Film Festival
Highlights and events schedule for the Gasparilla International Film Festival and Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival. → Read More
Alicia Vikander is too good for an uninspiring Tomb Raider
Before we never hear from him again, and almost certainly we wont after Tomb Raider, lets hail the name Roar Uthaug.Just the name. Not his movie.Has there ever been a more perfect name for an actio → Read More
Giancarlo Esposito, Eric Stoltz and Tommy Wiseau to appear at growing Gasparilla film fest in Tampa
Two of Tampa Bays longest running cinema showcases are teaming up, celebrities are showing up and the movie slate is looking up.Those are takeaways from Thursdays lineup release by the 12th annual → Read More
A Wrinkle in Time’ brings diversity to fantasy, but is still pretty dull
A Wrinkle in Time arrives on gossamer wings with cult of Oprah uplift, far less magical than believing itself to be.The rabbit was pulled early from Disneys hat when Ava DuVernay was hired to direct → Read More
Persall: Oscars try to move forward in the era of Times Up
Hollywood didnt take a time out from Times Up at Sundays 90th Academy Awards.After months of sexual misconduct revelations, the movie industry needed comic relief that returning host Jimmy Kimmel → Read More
Persall: Hollywood’s women deserve better, stronger roles
Nice work, Academy Awards, in responding to the #metoo and Time’s Up movements holding Hollywood accountable for sexual misconduct and harassment. Harvey Weinstein isn’t welcome at Sunda → Read More
In theaters this week: Death Wish’ Nostalgia’ and Gnome Alone’
OPENING FRIDAY: DEATH WISHCharles Bronsons Death Wish vigilante was the craggy face of urban paranoia in 1974 when movies taught us thats where all the ugly stuff happened. Bronsons Paul Kersey di → Read More
Cheat sheet: Place your Oscar bests with our movie critic’s picks
Last years Academy Awards envelope fiasco gave Moonlight the win and continued a best picture trend that The Shape of Water is bucking Sunday night.Only one best picture Oscar winner in the past fiv → Read More
Red Sparrow’ a sadistic, gratuitous movie somehow made in the #metoo era
Recently Ive been writing a lot about the Academy Awards unflattering history of honoring roles depicting women being victimized or made sexual objects. Something to think about in the wake of #met → Read More
Annihilation’ is strange, beautiful biological mystery
Alex Garlands Annihilation is a bracing blend of cerebral sci-fi and grindhouse terror, a genre movie thats more, maybe too much for some viewers.Based on Tallahassee author Jeff VanderMeers novel → Read More
Toga! Toga! 40th anniversary celebration of National Lampoon’s Animal House’ in Tampa this week
In the immortal words of Flounder at Faber Colleges homecoming parade: Oh boy, this is gonna be great!A 40th anniversary celebration of National Lampoons Animal House featuring appearances by two s → Read More