We’re almost there– it’s down to the final ten. Starting with: 10) 13 Assassins: “While the plot that subsequently comes together falls within the bailiwick typical to most men-on-a-mission films as Shinzaemon collects his chosen warriors– a motley crew of samurai ranging in age and experience, which eventually also comes to include a hunter (Yusuke … Continue reading
Men are in the spotlight at this year’s Oscars, but not women, even though women directed the best movies of 2018 that happen to be specifically about men. Natch. Continue reading
Hi. I’m late writing this up. I had other plans for ringing in 2019. Honestly, snowboarding and beer are only part of it. If I think about it for a second, I don’t really have a lot to say about 2018; I’m sans a unifying statement to reconcile all of the pop culture I digested … Continue reading
For your consideration: A whole heapin’ helpin’ of real good performances in real good movies. My picks here: Brady Jandreau, Joaquin Phoenix, Kiki Layne & Stefan James, and Ben Foster & Thomasin McKenzie. Maybe the last two feel like cheats, and in a way they are. But in a totally different way they’re not, because … Continue reading
Guys. Guys. Gals, too: We did it! We managed, for the first time in a long time, to drop a “films by women” column in the month it’s intended for! I’ll take the credit for this, but only because I take the blame for them not dropping in a timely fashion for the last few months … Continue reading
July has been a wasteland of a month for films by women. Not that there aren’t films by women out there in theaters for you to watch, or at home, and it’s not that those movies are bad or anything; it’s just that compared to other months, finding those movies has proven a Herculean task, and that’s … Continue reading
Each year (at least, each year since 2012) I cover Independent Film Festival Boston, I usually do a bit of promotion on this site – previews, lineups, general pleas to the audience to go buy some tickets to the great film festival of my hometown. This year I decided to do all of that over … Continue reading
In its own modest, tasteful way, Olivia Newman’s First Match is a harsh watch, a movie loaded with social and political (and sociopolitical) messages that shouldn’t feel modern but do anyways. That’s 2018 for you. We’re still that country. The film leaves no trace of whiteness and makes no mention of whiteness (at least that I recall), … Continue reading
It’s exactly three weeks until 2012’s Boston Independent Film Festival kicks off, and to that end the slate of films to be shown at the fest has been released. There’s a great amount of range here, from horror/exploitation flicks like V/H/S and Headhunters to new Todd Solondz as well as the latest from Bobcat Goldthwait, God Bless America; that’s … Continue reading
Wow, Adam McKay– what’s gotten you so worked up? Watching The Other Guys, the answer isn’t particularly secret and nor does McKay seem terribly interested in trying to disguise it. For a bonkers, slapstick, off-the-wall comedy featuring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg swapping back and forth between being the straight man and acting like lunatics, … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 