There are some movies that are so deeply personal to the filmmaker as to almost defy criticism or even really in-depth deconstruction. When you watch something like Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, N.Y.” or Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!,” there are so many different interpretations left on the table that the viewer is invited to take from the film […]
Film
Posted inCulture
Explosive Protest Art
"How to Blow Up a Pipeline" is a banger
Oh man, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is going to piss people off. Based on the vitriol from Armond White, I initially assumed the extreme right would be the most incensed. Wait, you haven’t heard of Armond White before? I’m sorry for introducing you to this rabbit hole. Armond White is a film critic […]
Posted inCulture
Six Movies, One Weekend
Cage, Mario, not Bob Ross and so much more
I might have overdone it at the theater last weekend. It was one of those weeks where life became a perfect storm of exhaustion, seasonal affective disorder and heartsickness, so I figured I would apply comforting cinematic ointment to my poor, addled brain. So, across three days, I went to six movies in the theater, basking […]
Posted inCulture
Growing Pains
Return to Seoul explores the context of a life
Sometimes it’s impossible to know anyone’s real motivations. No matter how well we think we know someone, people can and will always surprise us with the multitudes they contain. A single human being is capable of astonishing acts of cruelty or kindness, sometimes within the same moment. Cynics say that no one ever really changes, […]
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: April Edition
Cordyceps, catfishing and conspiracies!
This is embarrassing but I think 2023 has been a much better year for shows than movies so far. I know, I know, it’s only April, but there have been so many bad movies and so many good streaming shows that it feels like there’s an imbalance in the force. Even some of the newer […]
Posted inCulture
Keanu Kills Everybody
The Wickarding World continues
There aren’t a lot of truly great action movies. That might be a hot take, but it’s true. I’ve been intermittently working on a book that follows the latter career entries of action stars including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Scott Adkins, Liam Neeson, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham and Gerard Butler that’s focused on the […]
Posted inCulture
Dinosaurs, Ghostfaces and Cocaine Bears, Oh My!
The Source takes on a triple feature
We’re almost a full three months into the year and, correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t had a single exceptional film so far. There have been some good ones and bad ones and a million forgettable ones, but nothing great. Isn’t there usually at least one great movie by this point in the […]
Posted inCulture
The Best and Worst of the Academy Awards
The 2023 Oscar wrap-up
Look, I agree that the Oscars is an archaic institution that exist mostly just for Hollywood to pat itself on the back for a year’s worth of moneymaking, shrouded in attempts to remind the viewers about the magic of cinema. As someone who isn’t cynical about movies, I appreciate the attempt, even when it’s not […]
Posted inCulture
May the Source Be With You: March Edition
Jared Writes His 1,000th Article
This doesn’t make me feel old at all, but with this article, I’ve officially written 1,000 stories for the Source Weekly, on and off since September of 2010. I’m glad my 1,000th story landed on the date of my monthly column, so I can just take a moment and say three thank yous. One to […]
Posted inCulture
Bringing Sundance to Bend
The Tower and BendFilm screen exclusive docs on the Indigo Girls and Little Richard
Last week I didn’t know much about Little Richard and I knew even less about the Indigo Girls, so sitting down to watch documentaries about them back to back felt like a crash course in two very different but equally as iconic musical legends. In completely separate ways, both Little Richard and the Indigo Girls […]
