Us Kids
With Us Kids, director Kim A. Snyder strips away the apparent glamor of a recent political movement, the better to see the passionate but deeply traumatized individuals at its center. We know what...
View ArticleThe Man in the Hat
Somewhere near the middle of The Man in the Hat, we realize what the intentions of directors John Paul Davidson and Stephen Warbeck are for this strange and strangely beguiling modern-day fable. Not...
View ArticleRiders of Justice
The trailers have largely sold Riders of Justice as a revenge actioner, and there’s certainly revenge and bullet-riddled action as a shaggy stony Mads Mikkelsen wields weapons with precision. But...
View ArticleLos Hermanos/The Brothers
Music is of course the primary draw of a documentary like Los Hermanos/The Brothers. Directors Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider navigate geographical and political borders to tell the story of Ilmar...
View ArticleCriminally Underrated: Michael Clayton
For a movie that gets so much mileage out of dialogue and exposition, the pivotal moment in Michael Clayton comes in a wordless scene of almost mystical beauty, with repercussions that ripple through...
View ArticleThe Killing of Two Lovers
The Killing of Two Lovers begins with an opening scene that immediately depicts the lethal promise of the title. A man stands in the bedroom of two sleeping lovers, a gun pointed at their faces. He’s...
View ArticleThe Woman in the Window
When The Woman in the Window was first announced three years ago, there was genuine excitement for the project. This adaptation of a buzzy debut novel, an instant New York Times bestseller, written by...
View ArticleFinal Account
In the cloying dramatic comedy Jojo Rabbit, a Jewish teenage girl tells the hero – a member of the Hitler Youth – that, “You’re not a Nazi… You’re a 10-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny...
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Oeuvre: Fellini: 8/12
For readers of film criticism, there are few words more frustrating or alluring than “cinematic”: on the one hand, it is reprehensibly vague and is essentially empty of all content; on the other hand,...
View ArticleI Carry You With Me
There’s a particularly jarring structural moment right as Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You with Me opens. A Latino man, at the early end of middle age, rides the New York City subway. Wistful, somewhat...
View ArticleThe Dry
While the plot of The Dry is twisty-turny and unfolds across generations through the actions of a multitude of characters, the truly evil and implacable villain is indicated by the title and the...
View ArticleSpring Blossom
Films portraying teenagers’ early romantic and sexual experiences have become something approaching a staple of French cinema in recent decades, from Catherine Breillat’s shocking A Ma Soeur!, to...
View ArticleWhen Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
“I don’t think I’ve gotten used to being on the run yet.” These words would be slightly alarming in any given context, but they are downright terrifying coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old girl....
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Revisit: Flowers of Shanghai
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s filmography is, broadly speaking, an achronological overview of Taiwan’s history from its conquest by China through various periods of conquest and occupation to its nebulous present...
View ArticleBad Tales
Every time someone sits down to watch a film, there’s an agreement made between the filmmakers and the viewer. It is almost like a contract: if the viewers offers their time and the willingness to...
View ArticleArmy of the Dead
There’s a lot going on for Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead in its early scenes, as the film’s ability to set up a promising adventure is its strongest suit. The worldbuilding is superb as the film...
View ArticleFrom the Vaults of Streaming Hell: Painkillers
To its credit, vampire movie Painkillers finds a relatively fresh entry point to a subgenre that has been sucked dry. But that’s about as much praise as can be dished out for a story this preposterous....
View ArticleSound of Violence
The slasher is well past its ‘80s and ‘90s heyday, but the last decade has had its fair share of gory gems (and its large share of underwhelming throwbacks). Films like You’re Next and 2018’s Halloween...
View ArticleCounter Column
Counter Column suffers from many of the same issues as other films whose primary mission is to proselytize the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Namely, every dramatic avenue can be helpfully...
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Oeuvre: Fellini: Juliet of the Spirits
The most immediate reaction to the opening moments of Juliet of the Spirits is the sensation of color; it was Fellini’s first color film. After that, the film is a jumble of mixed feelings, twisted...
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