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THE WOLFPACK Charms But Lacks Context
Auteur theory has dominated the conversation around film for decades now, but while it’s easy to point at a director’s narrative work, it’s not so simple when discussing documentaries, where the...
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AFI FEST 2015: THE LOBSTER’s Deadpan Absurdism
Dogtooth is one of the great cinematic oddities to come out of Greece, totally specific yet absolutely riveting, and it’s no surprise that The Lobster, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ English-language...
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AFI FEST: MACBETH (2015) is Gorgeous But Dour
No writer has been adapted more times than William Shakespeare; in fact, his IMDb page (yes, Shakespeare has an IMDb page) lists well over 1,000 credits, dating back to 1898, the year that Macbeth was...
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THE LITTLE DEATH is Uneven But Lively
There are few subjects as universally relevant and relatable as sex, despite the heavy penalties levied against films that depict it too graphically. Nonetheless, there’s always a new angle to take, as...
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AFI FEST: CAROL is Dreamy, Well-Acted Romance
Cate Blanchett is among the greatest actresses working today, but her popularity is based more on her icy intensity than her likability. In fact, Blanchett’s best roles have been quite brittle and...
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AFI FEST: THE BIG SHORT is the Year’s Angriest Film
When describing the works of Adam McKay, the first words that come to mind might be silly, or hilarious, or in the sad case of Anchorman 2, disappointing. With The Big Short, which features an all-star...
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AFI FEST: 45 YEARS is an Unusual Ghost Story
45 Years, the third film from Weekend writer/director Andrew Haigh, is one of the most unusual ghost movies ever made. There aren’t any supernatural elements or chilling jump scares, but the specter of...
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AFI FEST: YOUTH is Electric, Playful, and Fantastic
Many films have delved into the difficulties of aging old white people, and the subject has been so widely covered that Michael Haneke’s devastating, beautiful Amour was released in the same calendar...
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CONCUSSION: A Great Story Told Badly
Is there any cinematic hero as hapless or helpless as the man who tells the truth and has his life destroyed for it? There have been a number of films based on the real-life stories of these men, many...
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10,000 KM: An Intimate Marvel, and Our Pick Of The Week
Technology is advancing so quickly that we can barely keep up, but not many films have truly dug into the ways that the rise of smartphones and the like have changed the way relationships work. 2013’s...
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Spoiler Review: THE NEON DEMON Dissects The City of Angels
This review of The Neon Demon contains SPOILERS for the entire film, so tread carefully. The list of films set in Los Angeles is virtually endless, and a vast array of filmmakers have captured the...
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Criterion Review: Explore the Spooky CARNIVAL OF SOULS
Horror films today are different beasts than their 1960’s counterparts, and without the constraints of the Production Code, they’re allowed to be louder, bloodier, and often meaner. Carnival of Souls...
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VICE PRINCIPALS: McBride Delivers Uncomfortable Comedy
Jody Hill and Danny McBride are among comedy’s most interesting collaborators, and their work often portrays characters who are utterly repulsive on the surface, casual in their racism and sexism, yet...
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Fantasia Festival 2016: THE EYES OF MY MOTHER Is Artsy But Empty
Filmmakers bonding together to help one another realize their projects is far from a new venture; the film school brats of the 1970’s famously gave each other notes on their respective masterpieces....
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Fantasia Festival 2016: WE ARE THE FLESH is Disturbing Shock Cinema
After over a century of horror cinema, there’s very little a film can do to shock the avid viewer. Even the goriest demise or most bizarre plot twist has roots elsewhere in the genre, and to depict...
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HARDCORE HENRY: Too Hardcore For Its Own Good
Cinema is a uniquely visual art form, one that’s built an easily recognizable and distinct vocabulary; the shot and the reverse shot, the wide angle and the close-up. These are some of the cornerstones...
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Fantasia Fest 2016: ANOTHER EVIL Struggles to Balance Horror and Comedy
One of the key storytelling tools in a filmmaker’s arsenal is tone, and few genres require the precise tonal calibration of the horror-comedy. These are the chocolate and peanut butter of cinema, two...
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THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE is a Sexy, Smart Success
Even in an age where one of TV’s best dramas is based on a classic Coen Brothers film, adapting Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience is a risky prospect. The little-seen film, notorious mostly...
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HELL OR HIGH WATER Finds the Poetry in Texas Pulp
The many, many strengths of Hell or High Water can all be found within its artfully staged first scene, which finds brothers Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) Howard robbing their first bank....
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MORRIS FROM AMERICA Comes of Age But Never Grows Up
Coming-of-age stories are among the most relatable tales ever told; after all, we haven’t all busted ghosts or saved the world, but each and every one of us has been through the perilous years of...
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