We have had our share of horrible boss movies over the years. Think Swimming With Sharks, The Devil Wears Prada, and yes, Horrible Bosses, all of which featured electrifying performances by the actors who got to push their underlings around. Well now, in the age of Time's Up and the #MeToo movements, the put-upon support... Continue Reading →
In 1996, Douglas McGrath’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma made a star out of Gwyneth Paltrow, and a year prior, Clueless, a teen comedy inspired by Austen’s novel, catapulted Alicia Silverstone to icon status as well. Now, music video director Autumn de Wilde, making her feature debut and acclaimed novelist turned screenwriter Eleanor Catton (The... Continue Reading →
So many film remakes have offered nothing new from the original, ultimately resembling a quick cash grab more than anything else. Successful ones, however, seem to have absorbed the times in which they’re made such as the Red Scare subtext of the 1956 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers outdone by the post-Watergate paranoia in the... Continue Reading →
I’ve always preferred a measuredly paced horror movie over ones with a reliance on frenetic action. Such titles as The Shining, The Strangers and The Exorcist took great care to build towards a sense of dread. While nowhere close to their quality, The Lodge, from directors Severin Fiala and Veronica Franz (Goodnight Mommy), blends together... Continue Reading →
Nicolas Cage and the word “bonkers” have formed a pact in so many films, they have both achieved National Treasure status. We love a film that goes off the rails, especially when it features Cage unhinged. Pair him with Richard Stanley, a notoriously offbeat personality himself who hasn’t directed a feature film in decades, in... Continue Reading →
[Everything is true. The names, however, have been changed to protect the innocent and the not-so-innocent] He doesn’t appear the least bit nervous. He sits calmly, steady legs, arms casually placed on each knee. He has a direct stare and flippantly casual responses to every question posed to him. You’d think a pair of burly,... Continue Reading →
Sometimes it’s important to view a film through the lens of its country of origin. What may seem standard for us may feel globally shifting for others. I came to Levan Akin’s And Then We Danced with this in mind, knowing full well that the LGBTQ+ communities in Tbilisi, Georgia do not enjoy the same... Continue Reading →
N.B. Contains potential spoilers. Ahh, the new year. A time to make resolutions. A time to hit reset. A time to make a fresh start. A time to delay a film review or two, but I had a bad cold for the entire first month of the year, so yes this is late for the... Continue Reading →
Instead of a top 10 list, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue. The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films... Continue Reading →
I see a lot of movies but don’t always have time to write a comprehensive review for every one of them. By catching up on screenings these past few weeks, I’ve managed to compile a small batch of artisanal, locally-sourced capsule reviews. While less wordy than usual, you still get my clever/groan-inducing titles, one to... Continue Reading →
