From the Vaults of Streaming Hell: The VelociPastor
“Dinosaurs never existed, and even if they did, I don’t transform into one.” Unfortunately for him, our hero is wrong on both counts. This may also be the only line of effective religious satire in the...
View ArticleAhed’s Knee
During periods of crisis, which seem constant nowadays, our daily grind can feel frivolous. What is the point of writing a film review or doom-scrolling through Twitter when there is widespread...
View ArticleOperation Mincemeat
The story being told in Operation Mincemeat is so incredible that it can only be true. Indeed, it is, and though screenwriter Michelle Ashford is adapting the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre,...
View ArticleOeuvre: Claire Denis: Beau Travail
Many early Claire Denis films are difficult to find in the United States. They are not on streaming sites, and most physical copies are out of print. That is partially why Beau Travail, the loose...
View ArticleHappening
If you aren’t concerned about the leaked draft ruling from the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, then please go see Audrey Diwan’s Happening. In what couldn’t be better (or worse) circumstances...
View ArticleOeuvre: Claire Denis: Trouble Every Day
Cast in a dreamy mix of blue, purple and black, the opening of Trouble Every Day captures Paris as its most commonly drawn in the popular imagination, a romantic reverie of entwined lovers and old...
View ArticleShepherd
In the wake of the surprise critical and commercial success of Rose Glass’ “elevated horror” Saint Maud, along with Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor, there has been renewed interest in British horror films...
View ArticleIn Front of Your Face
Even more than Éric Rohmer, the filmmaker to whom he is most often compared, Hong Sang-soo is defined as a director tackling the same subject ad nauseam. To describe his filmography as such, however,...
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Revisit: Ashes and Diamonds
This feature is dedicated to the memory of Armando Medardo Pintado Vitier May 9th has been an important day for Russians since World War II, the day Nazi Germany surrendered in 1945. Also known as...
View ArticleThe Ravine
The Ravine reveals itself to be approximately four different movies by the time the story reaches its laborious and manipulative conclusion. At first, writer/director Keoni Waxman’s film seems to be a...
View ArticleHoly Hell! Sweet Home Alabama Turns 20
On her cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd staple “Sweet Home Alabama,” recorded for its namesake romantic comedy, Jewel sings a bridge not heard on the original: “You don’t gotta be from down here to get...
View ArticleWuhan Wuhan
Three years ago, most people in the United States had no idea where Wuhan was; now, of course, everyone knows it as the place where the COVID-19 pandemic started. This does not mean that we know...
View ArticleOeuvre: Claire Denis: Friday Night
Friday Night unfolds like Claire Denis’ rebuke against most on-screen romances. In particular, she seems frustrated with two-handers like Before Sunrise, films where conversation and shared interests...
View ArticleThe Innocents
Perhaps best known as Joachim Trier’s screenwriting partner on the “Oslo Trilogy,” including last year’s The Worst Person in the World, Eskil Vogt has begun an intriguing directorial filmography of his...
View ArticleSuicide for Beginners
If you’re feeling charitable, perhaps you might think Suicide for Beginners merely starts on the wrong note. It begins with its antihero deadpanning a monologue about the virtues of dying by suicide,...
View ArticleHomebound
Meeting a romantic partner’s family for the first time can be awkward or even challenging, and one is left especially vulnerable when meeting a partner’s children. A situation rife with such social...
View ArticlePleasure
Pleasure is the feature-length directorial debut from Ninja Thyberg and is effectively an expanded version of her acclaimed 2013 short film of the same name. Having been selected for the 2020 Cannes...
View ArticleMontana Story
There’s a fantastic story about thorny sibling rivalry and repressed secrets set on a beautiful but worryingly secluded ranch in the Montana outback, but Montana Story isn’t it. Each of these elements...
View ArticleMonstrous
The Chicken Soup for the Soul publishing imprint promises pithy, uplifting stories targeted to general audiences as well as niche markets like teenagers and pet lovers. So what would you think of a...
View ArticleRevisit: Imitation of Life
Douglas Sirk’s 1959 adaptation of Fannie Hurst’s 1933 novel, Imitation of Life, was the second film treatment of the book. Both versions capture the overall thrust of the story: two poor single...
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