Written and directed by Damien Chazelle – the man behind the much-more-subdued 2016 movie homage “La La Land” – the boisterous mess “Babylon” (in theaters Dec. 23, ★★½ out of four) is a Tinseltown tale of fame, fortune and coke-snorting excess with real-life A-listers playing fictional A-listers. The movie starts in 1926 at an unhinged (and uninhibited) party in the southern California hills that introduces the main players. Manny Torres (Calva) is a Mexican immigrant solving crises at the drug-and-booze-fueled bacchanal. Manny and Nellie continue to cross paths as sound pictures change the industry, and their working lives. While Pitt has his over-the-top moments, he brings a thoughtful nuance to Jack, an icon on the downside of his career.

Source: The Star December 16, 2022 12:07 UTC