I’ve written some stuff about Wes Anderson and stop-motion animation in the past, tied to Fantastic Mr. Fox back in 2009, so I guess it’s only right that I wrote some stuff today, in 2018, about Wes Anderson and stop-motion animation tied to Isle of Dogs, his new and super complicated movie about an island populated by dogs. … Continue reading
Any of my readers out there who call themselves bettin’ types, you’re probably about to rake in a ton of cash: I didn’t care for Ready Player One. Shocker. A movie warped around 80s nostalgia – and around 90s nostalgia, and also random references to cool things from the last ten years – rubbed me the … Continue reading
Let me be upfront: I didn’t start writing this piece about Pacific Rim: Uprising expecting that it would basically turn into a whole thing about celebrity, iconography, and how those two things can weigh down on the spawn of famous actors who decide to follow in their parents’ footsteps. I guess that means I found Scott … Continue reading
It’s probably balm to Anders Walter’s soul to know that unlike David Ehrlich, I did not hate I Kill Giants. That said, I didn’t like it, either, though I have to follow that up by also saying I didn’t dislike it. I’m sure that this is completely sensible to everyone reading this. Thing is, I Kill Giants is … Continue reading
Deep down in my gut, there’s a tiny submerged part of me that honestly thinks The Endless, that new joint by that Aaron Moorhead guy and that Justin Benson guy (reminder: they’re the guys who made Spring, one of the best horror movies of 2014), should get on my nerves. I sort of understand what that part … Continue reading
If you don’t listen closely enough, you might miss the quiet explanation for Pet Names‘ title, but that’s okay: You’re almost guaranteed to catch it. Pet Names is a tiny movie about tiny problems, but it’s beautifully made and completely engrossing; I can’t imagine anyone with a taste for this kind of cinema, character-driven, relationship-driven, unfussed and … Continue reading
I started reviewing Brooklyn Nine-Nine for Paste Magazine way back in the day, about four years ago in fact, so if anyone is going to write an editorial about Fox’s jaw-dropping failure to renew the series for a sixth season it’s going to be me. Which is basically a convoluted way of saying that I wrote an … Continue reading
Well, I reckon that since I talked to Armando Iannucci about his new film, it’s only proper that I review it, too. So I did. It’s not my first time at the Iannucci rodeo, after all, so if I’m going to go in on The Death of Stalin, I’m going to go all-in. (Or something.) I’ll say … Continue reading
Talk about timely (especially after last month’s very delayed publication of this column)! My latest spotlight on films by women is available for stuffing into your eyeballs over at Paste Magazine, featuring the mixed-bag A Wrinkle in Time (decent, not great, but definitely an influencer); the very good Oh Lucy!, a Japanese dramedy starring Shinobu Terajima, featuring Josh … Continue reading
There’s probably a rule in journalism that one should not assign agency to their subjects, as in: I bet the issues I have with Michael Tully’s Don’t Leave Home boil down to confidence. I mean, that might be true, for all I know; the parts of the film that threw me out of the narrative feel like the … Continue reading
I wonder, honestly, if I might have liked Robert S. Bader’s Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes more if I knew less about Muhammad Ali. I certainly didn’t know that much about Dick Cavett walking into it, just enough to be conversational, so I guess that’s a plus in the film’s favor; all the … Continue reading
Who else but me would watch A Wrinkle in Time and go, “Hey, Michael Peña’s character sure does remind me of Pennywise the Dancing Clown”? Nobody, that’s who. That’s why I’m the one writing about this silly nonsense and not, like, someone else. I’m being a bit cheeky with this piece I did for Thrillist, but: Come … Continue reading
So, this is pretty huge (at least for me): Last week I spoke to Armando Iannucci, the comic genius behind Veep and In the Loop (among other things, like The Day Today, The Thick of It, and so on) about his new film, The Death of Stalin, which is about exactly what you think it is about. I’m a Iannucci fan … Continue reading
Recently, I took it upon myself as a journalist, a critic, and a writer to re-read A Wrinkle in Time, the ol’ Madeleine L’Engle book, in preparation for A Wrinkle in Time, the new Ava DuVernay adaptation. (I actually covered the story years back, when Disney hired Jennifer Lee to write it, so I’ve been procrastinating on … Continue reading
If I’m a fan of only two things in this world, it’s a) Intimate, small-scale, character-driven horror-thrillers about the inhumanity of humans, and b) Anya Taylor-Joy So there. (I’m a fan of a great deal many more things than a) and b), of course, but work with me here for once.) I talked to Taylor-Joy … Continue reading
Reminder: Every now and again, I write about craft beer. Mea culpa: My two most recent articles about craft beer have been in print, so you haven’t been able to read them. (This does not apply to local folks who read North Shore Magazine. I think.) Being in print is a great treat, so I guess … Continue reading
Remember back in 2015, when I reviewed every single dang episode of the first season of Jessica Jones? A couple years later, here I am up at The ARTery, compromising by reviewing just the first five episodes of the series’ new season, which is available for streaming on Netflix now. Bad news: It’s not as good as the … Continue reading
I like a good zombie movie, but of late, “good zombie movie” has a pretty strict Andy Crump Approved™ definition: Basically, I’m not at all interested in workaday zombie invasion movies where the goal is for people to off zombies, get eaten by zombies, and also have conflict with other humans because other humans can’t … Continue reading
King bummer: Mute, the new film from Duncan Jones, sort of kind of really, really, reeeeeally sucks. I’m a fan of Jones dating back to his debut, Moon, which, hey, good news – that movie is still super great. (Additionally, Source Code, his follow-up to Moon, remains solid, too, though a much lesser effort than Moon.) But the more movies Jones … Continue reading
And yet another entry in “better late than never,” though in this case you still get some utility out of the piece: Now you know which February Criterion releases are worth your time and money, courtesy of the team at Paste Magazine. (Hint: Night of the Living Dead.) (Second hint: Elevator to the Gallows.) (Third hint: Tom Jones, … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 