“Alfred Hitchcock once opined that a correctly designed picture should elicit screams from a Japanese audience at the same time as an Indian audience. Language, in other words, shouldn’t be a barrier to experiencing the thrill of the cinema. Two particular films released in 2015 loudly echo Hitch’s inestimable wisdom: First, George Miller’s Mad Max: … Continue reading
“If there’s one objective statement to make about Felt, the third film by Jason Banker, it’s that it’ll make you deeply uncomfortable. Felt is easier to admire than to straight-up love, a symptom of the ways it uses unease as a tool for setting atmosphere and tone. But whether we like or dislike movies like … Continue reading
“Channeling its theme of millennial ennui and disaffection, Bryan Reisberg’s handsomely crafted indie road trip comedy Big Significant Things has little to say, but says it with wit and style. Reisberg doesn’t pretend to have the answers, which doesn’t feel like a cop out since Craig Harrison–the neurotic, effete protagonist–doesn’t have any solutions. Harry simply … Continue reading
“Joshua Oppenheimer has dedicated the last decade of his life to exposing the Indonesian genocide that occurred between 1965 and 1966, but he first began to tell his story to the world back in 2013, when Drafthouse Films released Oppenheimer’s film The Act of Killing to critical acclaim and an eventual Oscar nomination. The doc … Continue reading
“Think of Trainwreck as Amy Schumer’s comedy fed through Judd Apatow’s directorial dehydrator: It’s 124 minutes of everything we love about Schumer deprived of just enough bite and flavor to keep us tantalized, and not enough to make the experience special. To the credit of both Apatow and Schumer, who wrote the whole damn thing, … Continue reading
“A funny thing happens in the third season of Jenji Kohan’s Orange Is the New Black: from one episode to the next, the show’s feminine perspective comes to share more and more shelf space with the viewpoints of bumbling men. Dudes have always been a core part of Orange Is the New Black’s slammer yarn, … Continue reading
“Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court is the writer-director’s first feature, but it’s so accomplished that he might fool you into thinking that he’s been doing this for years. Partly, that’s a credit to his technique and his craft. Tamhane favors a style that emphasizes long takes, steady cinematography, and careful editing. Every shot he photographs, every image … Continue reading
This post is late. Every hip critic on the web has already published a top ten for the year despite the fact that 2015 is only half over and going through the ranking rigmarole every fall is enough of a pain in the ass on its own without having to do the same song and … Continue reading
If you’ve been paying attention to the press, you’d think that just under two weeks ago the Supreme Court didn’t rule in favor of equality by guaranteeing marriage rights to gay couples across the U.S. of A. Homophobia, gay panic, and general bad feeling toward LGBT folks isn’t exactly at an all-time high or anything, … Continue reading
“If you keep up with the buzz humming off the festival circuit, then no doubt you’ve heard of Sean Baker’s Sundance hit Tangerine, which he shot using a handful of iPhone 5s (outfitted with anamorphic lens adapters). But please, make no mistake:Tangerine isn’t a movie about iPhones. It’s a movie about Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and … Continue reading
“Congratulations, The Gallows: You’re this year’s As Above, So Below, which means that you’re this year’s Chernobyl Diaries, and on and on throughout found footage’s rich history as a hotbed for horror hack-work. (For every Trollhunter, there’s an Apollo 18. For every Creep, there’s…well, something like this.) It doesn’t take much to make found-footage movies … Continue reading
“Picture this: You’re visiting Los Angeles, just outside West Hollywood. The sun is beating down with such solar gusto the sidewalk shimmers. You’re en route to the nearby Donut Time for a breakfast of fried confections to start your day. No sooner do you set foot through the door and sidle up to the counter, … Continue reading
“Depending on how you look at him, Matthew Heineman is either brave to a T or a madcap with a death wish. The very notion of willfully exposing oneself to the routinely barbaric activities of Mexican drug cartels, both south of and along the U.S./Mexico border, sounds completely ludicrous: Most Americans are lucky enough to … Continue reading
What’s it like to go from directing non-professional actors to the craft’s living legends? David Gordon Green’s career began with 2000’s George Washington, and in the decade and a half since, he’s had the chance to work with actors ranging fromSam Rockwell to Paul Rudd, recently adding Nicolas Cage to his list of collaborators with … Continue reading
Terry Gilliam, the Czech New Wave, the longstanding collaborations of Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, and more in Paste Magazine’s monthly round-up of Criterion Collection releases. (Via Paste Magazine.)
“‘Old, not obsolete.’ These three words are repeated often throughout Terminator Genisys, Alan Taylor’s contribution to the iconic ’80s/’90s action series, and they apply perfectly to the film’s biggest name: Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, reprising his role as an unstoppable cyborg for the umpteenth time in the Terminator saga’s lifespan. If any production in the latter … Continue reading
“In the vast and varied catalog of horror film villains, giant bugs have historically been paid little respect. Big damn insects tend to be B-movie fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000 or drive-ins. If Benni Diez’s Stung proves anything, it’s that relegation to horror’s minor leagues is A-OK. Unlike so many recent high-profile horror projects, such … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 