I wouldn’t say I disliked John Goldschmidt’s Dough, though I’m not sure I liked it as a whole movie, either. If I have any pet peeves with movies, and I have many pet peeves with movies, so let’s just pretend I have one, and if I have one pet peeve with movies, it’s when they jam too many different … Continue reading
It’s been awhile since Joachim Trier decided to be nice and make a movie – the last time was back in 2012, when his second feature, Oslo, August 31st, made its way to American theaters. But good news! Trier’s third film, Louder Than Bombs, is making the rounds, and opens in Boston on the 29th. And hey, … Continue reading
I adored John Carney’s Once, though as I look through this site’s archives it occurs to me that I have never written about the film in all my seven years of writing for the web. Shame, shame. Anyways, Once is a treasure, and in regards to Once Carney’s latest film, Sing Street, feels like an altogether different treasure. Once is … Continue reading
Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room is an unflinching, vicious piece of work, and if you are either faint of heart or weak of stomach, I think it’s probably my job to steer you away from it. Or maybe I should steer you toward it. I’m not a mean guy or anything, but if I’m being honest, Green Room … Continue reading
The big question hanging over The Huntsman: Winter’s War is broadly simple: “Who the hell is this ding dang movie for, anyway?” The only entity who theoretically should know, Universal Pictures, doesn’t, at least as evidenced by the way they chosen to package and sell the movie to whoever they’re hoping to sell it to: If … Continue reading
I’ll say this about Brookly Nine-Nine‘s third season in a macro context: I liked it quite a bit overall and think that it’s solid with just a few rough patches here and there in its twenty three episode span. On the subject of its final two episodes, my thoughts are somewhat more complex, and I suggest … Continue reading
My familiarity with Danish comedy extends about as far as Mikkel Nørgaard’s Klown, the rom-coms of Lone Scherfig, and Adam’s Apples, Anders Thomas Jensen’s 2005 black comedy about the book of Job. Basically, I’m not especially well-versed on the subject, though I know enough to know that Mads Mikkelsen can actually be pretty damn funny when he feels … Continue reading
In case you all have forgotten: I really, really, really, really, really hated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But I didn’t hate everything about it! I liked Gal Gadot despite the minimal capacity the film uses her in, for example, so much so that I am now looking forward to Patty Jenkins’ forthcoming Wonder Woman flick more than that … Continue reading
If you have been tuning into this space for the last week and wondering why I have posted exactly zero new updates, it’s because I’ve been gallivanting around Bermuda since the 12th. But I’m back in Boston, and with eight days to spare before Independent Film Festival Boston’s 2016 rumpus, I’d say it’s about time … Continue reading
Note: I wrote this review of Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin around two or so years ago, give or take, which is the blink of an eye in a cosmological context but close to a fucking lifetime in the context of film criticism born in the social media era. I’m sharing it here, now, for a couple … Continue reading
I trust in my critical faculties to interpret the films that I watch, and for good reason, because my critical faculties are pretty fucking awesome, but there is something to be said for having my eyes opened by the perspectives of other people. In the case of The Invitation, which I clearly dug, “other people” means … Continue reading
I have never gotten motion sick from watching a movie. Ever. My stomach stayed strong through the shaky-cam antics of Cloverfield, and I didn’t flinch watching either of the first two V/H/S films in the theater. (V/H/S Viral upset my digestion, but only because it’s kind of a terrible movie.) I can endure buckets of gore without batting … Continue reading
I’m a big fan of movies that function on the principle of “the less you know, the better,” but let me tell you: They are a bitch to write about. How much is too much? Where’s the line between giving away precious details and playing too coy for your audience’s own good? The answers to these … Continue reading
Quick, take a picture: It’s an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that I didn’t out-and-out love. This, of course, has happened before, and it is also worth noting that I would not exactly describe “Maximum Security” as “bad” as much as “disappointing,” and perhaps “stunted.” There aren’t that many episodes left in season three, and this feels … Continue reading
Horror fans, of late, have been spoiled by a wealth of sophisticated, smartly made films that explore deep-rooted emotional themes and human issues, ranging from parental fears to teenage anxieties. (See: The Babadook, It Follows, The Witch, We Are What We Are, Spring, Let the Right One In.) These are all, for the most part, great movies, and those that aren’t great are … Continue reading
I first covered Independent Film Festival Boston back in 2012, when I was but an inexperienced festival-going critic (and an inexperienced critic in general). I was still writing for my man Marc’s blog, GoSeeTalk, at that time, before I started writing for outlets like Screen Rant and getting addicted to the hustle. Things were different … Continue reading
It’s that time again: Criterion time. March’s release slate for the boutique home video label saw quite a few essentials, a’la John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate and Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (which I once wrote about in the greener days of my life as a film critic), as well as a couple of films that have not … Continue reading
Make room in the village square and dust off the stocks: I am about to give a less than favorable review to a Richard Linklater film. (Aside: I know I recently promised a review of Krisha, along with other films, in a mini review round-up. This is not that. Sorry. Sort of. Okay, I’m not sorry. But … Continue reading
“We talk an awful lot about what kind of show Brooklyn Nine-Nine is, and how its genre, tone, and sensibility generally excuse it from having to be anything more than funny to succeed. This holds true for “Paranoia,” which is often uproarious, but the episode stresses that emotion is just as important a component to … Continue reading
If you aren’t watching WGN America’s excellent new show, Underground, I suggest that you remedy that by, uh, watching WGN America’s excellent new show, Underground. This applies even if you are sick to death of slave narratives or if you just don’t have the stomach for another 12 Years a Slave. Underground is kind of like that Steve McQueen … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 