You got your body horror in my psychological thriller! Except that it’s all horror, even when it’s too over-written for its own good. Pft. Continue reading
Matches for: “the perfection” …
“‘The Sonata’ Hits One Great Note and Misplays the Rest”
Andy had hopes for this movie, but it turns out it’s so not-a good. Continue reading
“The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2019 (So Far)”
And it took a good bit of legwork to actually get to ten, let me tell you! Continue reading
“David Lynch’s ‘Dune’ Might Not Be Perfect, But Its New 4K Restoration Reminds Us It’s Admirable”
I will tolerate no dissent on my opinion that this very flawed and ungainly movie is pretty darn cool. Continue reading
“‘First Cow’ Is A Necessary Portrait Of Platonic Male Affection”
The start of a new franchise. Better get a ticket now before “Second Cow” and “Third Cow” go into production. Continue reading
Review: Embrace of the Serpent, 2016, dir. Ciro Guerra
This year, the race for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Picture might have been the most easily predicted outside of Best Animated Feature; even if you only knew of Son of Saul through pop culture osmosis, it’s likely that you were pretty sure the Academy voters were going to give it the top prize … Continue reading
Review: Hail, Caesar!, 2016, dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
Let’s get one thing outta the way: Hail, Caesar! is minor Coen brothers. It is not No Country For Old Men, though if we are using that as the yardstick separate “minor” Coens from “major” Coens, then nearly every film they have made since 2007 falls into the former category. You can instead lump Hail, Caesar! in with A Serious … Continue reading
TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 2.17, “Boyle-Linetti Wedding”
“There is no actor more perfect to play Joe Lo Truglio’s dad than Stephen Root; and there is no actress more perfect to play Chelsea Peretti’s mom than Sandra Bernhard. So an episode explicitly named for the marital union between Lynn Boyle and Darlene Linetti attains perfection on at least two different planes, which gives … Continue reading
Double Take Go, See, Talk! Review: End of Watch, 2012, dir. David Ayer
The writer of Training Day takes his umpteenth stab at telling a story of heroism, crime, and male emotion filtered through the lens of South Central law enforcement and gang culture. Is David Ayer just a one-trick pony, or is he a driven perfectionist? Continue reading
Review: Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011, dir. Joe Johnston
To call Captain America: The First Avenger “perfect” would be something of an overstatement– the opening scene serves absolutely no appreciable purpose whatsoever for the movie’s narrative, and the denouement gets a little choppy and falters in set-up and execution. The unsavory frames of film that bookend what you could call Joe Johnston’s masterpiece (with … Continue reading
Review: Super 8, 2011, dir. J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams is short of a single meticulously crafted script before he creates his masterpiece; he knows how to make an entertaining, fulfilling movie that resonates with his audiences, but each of his cinematic endeavors has been hamstrung by virtue of lacking a highly polished, impeccable piece of writing that elevates his work from “good” … Continue reading
A Life In Movies Blogathon
For those who have read this blog for a while (or who have read it very thoroughly in a minute passage of time), my interest in defining films that are personal and unique to my individual identity and perspective as a cineaste should be well known from my (admittedly minimal) Movies That Matter series to … Continue reading
Review: Black Swan, 2010, dir. Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan could almost be called The Wrestler 2 despite not featuring strapping, muscle-bound men in tights and torn jeans beating each other with their fists and the occasional piece of hardware in bouts with predetermined outcomes; Darren Aronofsky here uses the lens of ballet to continue examining the lengths performance artists will go to, … Continue reading
Andrew’s Top Ten of 2010 (pt.2)
Early America was a remarkable place, unique as the one nation where people from all around the world could come together and be called equal. The color of one’s skin, one’s native language, and one’s economic status didn’t matter. Once you arrived in America, it made no difference, because in America everyone was treated the … Continue reading
Review: Shutter Island, 2010, dir. Martin Scorsese
(Warning: The following review delves ever so slightly into spoiler territory, so you may wish to avoid reading this if you haven’t watched the movie yet.) And for his next trick, Martin Scorsese does his very best M. Night Shyamalan impression and tries his hand at the horror genre. Shutter Island, by all means, isn’t … Continue reading
Late Night Double Feature: Jennifer’s Body/Drag Me to Hell
But don’t worry– I’m not in the back row at the picture show, because you know what they say about the back ro Two horror films, two degrees of director skill. Two beautiful leading ladies, both tormented or prodded by demons. Sounds like a natural pairing for a late-night back-to-back horror bash. Let’s get this … Continue reading
Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, 2009, dir. Paul Weitz
I’m of the firm belief that movies should always be made with the utmost care in craftsmanship no matter who they’re being made for. This belief seeps into every aspect that goes into the finished product that we end up seeing on the big screen after we buy our tickets and find our seats, from … Continue reading
Review: Pirate Radio, 2009, dir. Richard Curtis
In the 1960’s, Britain heavily restricted the broadcasting of rock and roll on their airwaves, ostensibly because the British government is comprised of squares. In response, DJs took to the North Sea in decrepit, ancient boats outfitted with broadcasting equipments and radio towers for the purpose of illegally transmitting radio signals across the country and … Continue reading
Review: Iron Man 2, 2010, dir. Jon Favreau
The sequel in a superhero franchise is generally highly anticipated for all the promise it holds. With all of the origin work out of the way thanks to the first film, the second entry in the series naturally possesses more room to maneuver and wow audiences without being stymied by a need to portray the … Continue reading
Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007, dir. Tim Burton
I’m a big fan of the abrupt and melodramatic style of the musical, and an even bigger fan of the dread and grue associated with horror movies. I also (surprise!) happen to really, really like movies. It therefore stands to reason that a movie version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street would … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 