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Every year critics and audiences alike decry Hollywood for the “fact” that not very good movies come out anymore. There are two reasons why this statement is false: 1) Quite a few good movies come out every year, they just mostly don’t make it to your local theater unless you live in LA, NYC or […]
The perfect distillation of the movie “Arrival,” as well as that of the last year in politics, happened when I watched the film and the closing credits rolled. Just as the film ended, someone several rows behind me started cheering and applauding while another person sitting in close proximity to them began booing. Then everyone […]
Viewers who aren’t trained in the art of arthouse (or the films of writer-director-editor Kelly Reichardt) might complain that “nothing happens” throughout the running time of “Certain Women.” Indeed, most of the incidents in these three cinematic poems are mostly internal. The moments of drama aren’t sweeping, but instead barely registered moments of pain, heartbreak […]
A writer friend once told me that the secret to crafting a truly good and dismal horror story lies in writing great happy scenes. Show your characters triumphant, peaceful and secure, get your viewers really invested in their well being and success, and then let the audience die a little inside as that happiness slowly […]
“Inferno” is the latest Robert Langdon thriller based off the books by Dan Brown, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom “America’s Favorite Uncle” Hanks. The story is similar to “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons” in that we follow Harvard University professor Robert Langdon through another historical scavenger hunt across the globe. […]
Unlike some, I don’t hate Tom Cruise. It seems like most of the distaste for the man comes from his couch-jumping period, where every single one of his public appearances was more bizarre than the last. Some people might dislike him based on his film work, but it seems like his creepy Scientologist vibe is […]
Another Halloween is here and you know what that means! Well, yes, a bunch of sexy Ken Bone costumes, but also it means watching a few horror movies. Even people who can’t stand being scared will rock a horror movie or two for this season. But here’s the thing: “Horror” is a pretty wide and […]
So many modern documentaries don’t even feel like the truth anymore. With expertly composed frames and painterly cinematography, documentaries can sometimes feel like dramatic reenactments more than slices of history or current events. Those kinds of docs can be powerful and gorgeous to look at, but something feels inherently manufactured about them. That’s why “Harry […]
Film studios and critics always try to place movies in little boxes. This one’s a comedy. This one’s a mystery. This one’s a drama…as if “drama” isn’t the most generic and shortsighted description for film imaginable. When a film plays fast and loose with genre, the marketing department is usually at a loss, selling the […]
There is no real way to talk about Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” without first addressing some of the controversy surrounding it. Parker co-wrote, co-produced, starred and directed the film (about Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831), appropriating the title from D.W. Griffith’s 1915 Ku Klux Klan propaganda film. The original film is […]
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