Oeuvre: Varda: Faces Places
At one point in 2017’s Faces Places, Agnés Varda says to her collaborator, the visual artist JR, “Let’s get as many images as we can before it’s too late.” It’s hard not to think of this how Varda...
View ArticleQueen & Slim
Queen & Slim’s writing and directing duo, music video helmer Melina Matsoukas and Emmy award-winning TV writer Lena Waithe, last teamed up on a 2017 Thanksgiving-themed episode of Aziz Ansari’s...
View ArticleDark Waters
Dark Waters, the latest effort from Todd Haynes, lacks the louder signifiers of the filmmaker’s recognizable, auteurist style, but it shouldn’t be such a mystery to critics why he chose to make it....
View ArticleKnives Out
Less than 30 minutes into Knives Out, Rian Johnson’s new murder mystery, one character quips that the New England mansion where much of the film is set feels like something right out of Clue. Though...
View ArticleDaniel Isn’t Real
Daniel Isn’t Real, the second feature film from director/co-writer Adam Egypt Mortimer, is a trippy psychological thriller that keeps its ambitions in check despite having big, bold ideas behind it....
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Rediscover: Wanda
Where would Wanda be if released today, in the midst of the #MeToo movement? Overlooked upon its 1970 release, Barbara Loden’s independent film about a woman who drifts from one awful man to another is...
View ArticlePortrait of a Lady on Fire
Céline Sciamma’s masterfully constructed and achingly romantic film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, begins with close-ups of easels where art students sketch our protagonist, Marianne (Noémie Merlant)....
View Article63 Up
How you feel after watching 63 Up, the latest installment in Michael Apted’s series that began as a look into the lives of a group of seven-year-olds in 1964 and has since returned to check in with...
View ArticleI Lost My Body
For Naoufel, the protagonist and titular body of I Lost My Body, life is buffeted and defined by random twists of fate: a tragic and sudden loss, a missed connection and an endless chain of mistakes...
View ArticleOeuvre: Varda: Varda by Agnès
Varda by Agnès begins with a tranquil tour through its maker’s filmography, the credits laid over stills from various narrative features, documentaries and shorts from Agnès Varda’s six-decade career....
View ArticleIn Fabric
In Fabric wears its retro giallo indulgence on its sleeve, as writer-director Peter Strickland’s heavily atmospheric, fashion-forward horror film about a killer dress relies more on impeccable...
View ArticleLittle Joe
With its antiseptic aesthetic and hermetically sealed production design, Jessica Hausner’s latest film, Little Joe, more closely resembles a shrewd music video or a knowing tech commercial than a...
View ArticleThe Mandela Effect
Do you remember that ‘90s movie starring Sinbad as a genie? Didn’t Curious George used to have a tail? And when did Jiffy peanut butter shorten its brand name by two letters? If you’ve ever had these...
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Revisit: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that not only does Hedwig and the Angry Inch hold up better than ever, but that the 2001 film remains the definitive version of this remarkable work. Its source...
View ArticleKnives and Skin
When exploring a specific director’s innate style, sometimes what works about that style comes into sharper focus when analyzing the work of an imitator. Watching Jennifer Reeder’s ambitious and...
View ArticleCode 8
There’s a great episode of “South Park” where Butters in his guise as evil genius Professor Chaos concocts plans to take over the world only to be reminded that each of his nefarious schemes already...
View ArticleBest Fight Scene Ever: Kill Bill: Volume 2
While Kill Bill: Volume 1 was a mash-up a variety of Asian and American action film genres (personified by Lucy Liu’s character, O-Ren Ishii, a Chinese-Japanese American), the comparatively underrated...
View ArticleJumanji: The Next Level
When news of Sony’s 2017 Jumanji reboot was announced, it seemed like another in a long line of bleak Hollywood nostalgia projects. And in many ways it was just that, a rather typical studio...
View ArticleHoly Hell: Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace Turns 20
Here’s the thing about Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace: it hasn’t aged well. It’s not just the most glaringly out-of-date Star Wars film, either. Due to its unruly mixture of live action and...
View ArticleHell on the Border
Damon Lindelof’s new adaptation of “Watchmen” for HBO shocked viewers by opening with a silent movie sequence about Bass Reeves, a real life legend who was the first black deputy U.S. Marshall in...
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