“There are two integral components to any review ofBeasts of No Nation: Its identity as a piece of art and its identity as a product of an industry experiencing post-millennial growing pains. “Netflix presents a Netflix original film,” the credits tell us before ticking off requisite hat tips to the project’s other participating bodies. Strictly … Continue reading
“Mexico has had a problem with drug cartels for decades, but the country’s drug war didn’t officially start until Felipe Calderón ordered a battalion of troops to Michoacán for the dispensal of indiscriminate justice in 2006. You can trace the fallout of Calderón martial intervention either through good old fashioned journalism or U.S. pop culture: … Continue reading
“When Joe Wright’s Pan moves its setting away from London and into Neverland, Peter (Levi Miller), not yet the hero we know he becomes, steps out onto the deck of a flying pirate ship to observe a strip mine jammed with filthy children singing a shanty song that sounds an awful lot like “Smells Like … Continue reading
The best Wes Anderson movie ever made, Bruce Beresford’s most accomplished and well-recognized works, top-drawer De Palma, and more in September’s Criterion round-up. (Via Paste Magazine.)
“I know nothing in my heart anymore.” Truer words have never been uttered on The Bastard Executioner, but if the show’s cast remain uncertain about who they’re meant to be, at least Kurt Sutter is confident in the series’ identity. His medieval soap opera has really hit its stride in the last two weeks, with … Continue reading
“The appearance of a celebrity guest in the Muppet world, whether on the big or small screen, always adds a bit of zest to their tomfoolery, and the Muppets’ list of celebrity guests is as extensive as it is profound. Harry Belafonte, Julie Andrews, Vincent Price, Steve Martin, Roy Clark, Milton Berle, Amy Adams, Dom … Continue reading
“Boyle is back, baby! Okay, maybe the resuscitation of Charles Boyle’s latent dating life is, in the grand scheme of things, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s least important third season development thus far, but after last week’s “New Captain,” there hung in the air a question as to what the show intended for him in a post-Jamy world. … Continue reading
“It’s not every day that you walk into a horror movie expecting it to make you choke up. Usually, we pay the price of admission to scare ourselves silly and enjoy some good old-fashioned exploitative voyeurism; we watch imperiled characters get bumped off with hideous creativity, and once it’s all over, we have the privilege … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 