Essay: Ferguson, SELMA, And Hope

“I saw Ava DuVernay’s Selma at a “for your consideration” screening the same night a grand jury in St. Louis County declined to indict Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.” (Via Badass Digest.)

Review: The Babadook, 2014, dir. Jennifer Kent

“Classifying Jennifer Kent’s feature debut, The Babadook, is tricky. Ostensibly this is a horror film—freaky stuff happens on an escalating scale, so qualifying Kent’s tale of a single mother’s fractious relationship with her young son with genre tags seems like a perfectly logical move. But The Babadook is so layered, so complex and just so … Continue reading →

Review: Horrible Bosses 2, 2014, dir. Sean Anders

“Why does every single Jason Bateman character ever insist on associating with morons? Bateman’s always been the smartest, most hapless schmuck in the room; ever since his days on Arrested Development, viewers have gravitated towards him out of sympathy, wanting to support his innate, down-to-earth likeability. But there’s a point at which an actor’s persona … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 2.08, “USPIS”

“And just like that, with a flurry of story, a guest stint from Ed Helms, and a helping of penis humor, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back on track. “USPIS” perfectly highlights what the show does so, so well as compared to Season Two’s less successful episodes (“Lockdown,” “Halloween II”)—finding something valuable for each and every member … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 2.07, “Lockdown”

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine has really been whiffing on its holiday episodes this season; first it was “Halloween II,” now it’s “Lockdown.” These episodes suffer from the exact same storytelling problems, both superficial and fundamental. Neither manage to outdo their predecessors from yesteryear, but in all honesty that’s not a huge issue—if either managed to just be … Continue reading →

Review: Interstellar, 2014, dir. Christopher Nolan

“Whether he’s making superhero movies or blockbuster puzzle boxes, Christopher Nolan doesn’t bandy with emotion. He’s an intellectual clinician concerned more with the whiz-bang side of filmmaking than in messy, icky sentimentality. We buy tickets to his movies in the pursuit of wonder because that’s his trade, much like we visit a mechanic to replace … Continue reading →

Review: The Tower, 2014, dir. Christian Schwochow

“Boy, has The Tower been put through the wringer in the last 6 years. It began its life as a novel in 2008; was translated into a two-part television event in 2012; and now has had both of those halves stitched together into a theatrical release for American theaters in 2014. Did Uwe Tellkamp anticipate … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 2.06, “Jake and Sophia”

This week on Brooklyn Nine-Nine: a celebration of women in power. First and most significant, we have Amy Santiago stepping up to become the precinct’s union rep after enduring some pretty heavy duty cajoling from both Diaz and Holt. Second and more likely to take up screen time, the budding romance between Peralta and Sophia … Continue reading →

Review: Big Hero 6, 2014, dir. Don Hall & Chris Williams

“Some superheroes fight evil in the name of justice. Some fight for revenge. Baymax, the incomparably huggy automaton in Disney’s Big Hero 6, fights to help his young ward, teen genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), as he mourns a devastating personal tragedy. This makes Baymax an outlier of sorts in today’s crop of big screen … Continue reading →

Review: Birdman, 2014, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu

“Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) used to be somebody. Specifically, he used to be Birdman, a once globally beloved superhero turned pathetic pop culture footnote 20 years after his relevance (and his fortune) has faded. He used to soar above the world, patrolling the skies on wings of justice, dispensing law and order to all evildoers … Continue reading →

A Half Day of Horror

“Watching more than one movie in a single day is a tall order. Watching six movies in half that amount of time, then, is as daunting as any Herculean labor. So why, you may ask, did I drag myself out to that beloved repertory shrine of Brookline, the Coolidge Corner Theater, this past Saturday for … Continue reading →

Retrospective Review: Before Sunset, 2004, dir. Richard Linklater

“It doesn’t take much to green light a sequel—just a reasonable opening weekend gross coupled with better than toxic word of mouth—but that’s part of why the continuation to Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise is so special. Seriously, how many quiet, dialogue heavy indies actually get, much less deserve, a second chapter? As a sequel to a … Continue reading →

Retrospective Review: The Newton Boys, 1998, dir. Richard Linklater

“Between 1919 and 1924, the Newton Gang—a family owned and run operation based in Uvalde, Texas—robbed over eighty banks and six trains, sparing bloodshed in their outlaw ventures and taking in an astronomical tally of pelf in the process. The sibling quartet—Willis, Wylie, Jess and Joe—cut their legend from the same cloth as Jesse James … Continue reading →

Retrospective Review: Before Sunrise, 1995, dir. Richard Linklater

“When we talk about trilogies today, we tend to have a very specific visual in mind; we’re thinking of superhero rumpuses, decrepit horror series, action extravaganzas a few entries past being merely long in the tooth. We don’t usually think about talky love ballads that balance romance with aimless philosophical dissertations. In fairness, we didn’t … Continue reading →

Review: Nightcrawler, 2014, dir. Dan Gilroy

“Meet Lou Bloom. He’s a young, ambitious go-getter, a diehard professional always on the lookout for good career opportunities that offer plenty of upward mobility. He’s also a charming psychopath, which is a nice way of saying that he’s a snake wrapped up in Jake Gyllenhaal’s clothing. Lou is a passionate man, but he’s passionate … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Episode 2.05, “The Mole”

“There are two primary differences between this week’s episode, “The Mole,” and October’s overreaching seasonal joint, “Halloween II”: one, “The Mole” is successful at developing characters and constructing jokes. Two, Andre Braugher is the star here, rather than the supporting figure behind Andy Samberg’s usual displays of clownish bravado. Braugher usually plays a role in … Continue reading →

Review: The Great Invisible, 2014, dir. Margaret Brown

“If you heard this quote out of context, you might assume it can be sourced back to a Vietnam vet or 9/11 responder. But you would be wrong, and more than that, you would be shocked; this is the testimony of Doug Brown, chief engineer on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and one of the … Continue reading →

Review: Horns, 2014, dir. Alexandre Aja

“Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t need Horns, but boy does Horns need Daniel Radcliffe. This is the Boy Who Lived after all, a young guy with so much pop cultural cachet that the idea of performing Equus seemed beneath him. Yet, even during his stint as the world’s most famous wizard, Radcliffe made moves to prove himself … Continue reading →