“Don’t let the title of Paolo Sorrentino’s new film fool you: he’s playing coy.Youth is not about young people at all, but rather a pair of sad old wrinklies who sit around at a spa mourning the loss of their youth, as well as the divisions between parents and their children, the death of the … Continue reading
“Brothers Shaul (Eitan Cunio) and Yaki (David Cunio) Cooper are as close as two siblings can be: They watch movies together, they pee together, and, when their family’s financial chips are down, they kidnap and ransom people together. Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval’s film Youthbegins with Shaul hatching the brothers’ plot as he follows their target—wealthy … Continue reading
“Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young kicks off with dialogue from The Master Builder, one of the most significant works of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The text details an exchange between Halvard Solness, the architect of the play’s title, and Hilda, a young woman from Solness’s past who has arrived to assert herself in his present. … Continue reading
Who needs a clever title when you can just get right down to business? Also, happy November. Continue reading
It’s a hand, but made into a fist, but with a single digit raised, and guess which one? Continue reading
Oh man, did I ever get this one wrong once upon eight years ago. Continue reading
2018 had pop stardom on its mind, but the best pop star movie of the year is the one that bothers being honest about how we talk pop culture in the first place. Continue reading
Two things: The original title of this piece, or, more honestly, the suggested title, was “Chris Pine‘s Wood.” Obviously that got nixed, for reasons I can appreciate and agree with. I forgot about The Spy Who Dumped Me, which has some impressive male dong and balls on display, and was reminded by a dear friend after the … Continue reading
I’m wondering if Michael Pearce’s very good Beast is dropping at an inopportune cultural moment; we’re talking a lot about why kids shoot up schools, and there’s a percentage of nimrods trotting out usual excuses like “they were bullied” and “they watch too much violent media.” Beast isn’t quite about either of those, and it’s not about … Continue reading
I’ll admit it: I have a hard time writing about The Get Down, not for lack of things to say, but because there’s so much that can be said and should be said about it, and so much that needs to be said to satisfy the purpose of a recap. This is what I get for knocking … Continue reading
(Author’s note: The title reads “review.” This is obviously not a review of the episode, which by all measures I think is very strong up until its big, last-minute reveal. It is a breakdown of that last-minute reveal only, because the moment and the response to that moment have driven me to make my own … 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
It is pretty to think that all of this year’s Oscars outrage might have been avoided with just a few shifts in nominations. In truth, recognition for some combination of Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, Teyonah Parris, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Jason Mitchell, Corey Hawkins, Jada Pinkett Smith, Abraham Attah, Idris Elba, Mya Taylor, Aaron Covington, … Continue reading
“Nothing’s more effective at shaking a teen out of their monotonous high school routine than the arrival of a new student. That’s the stuff actress/director Mélanie Laurent’s sophomore film, Breathe, is made of: mystery and allure, with generous dollops of adolescent rivalry, sexual awakening and verbal abuse spooned on top. Think of Breatheas a distant … Continue reading
A middleground horror film mostly absent of good scares, The Possession serves as a cautionary tale warning horror aficionados that not everything with Sam Raimi’s name is associated to meets the high standard of his legacy as a genre great. Continue reading
Christopher Nolan has released his swan song to the Batman franchise; with The Dark Knight Rises, the reigns are now out of his hands. Did Nolan do it right in his final installment in the Bat-franchise? Continue reading
Step Up Revolution isn’t the sort of film that demands a great preamble; long before you set foot in the theater, you’ll have already developed an idea of what the movie is about through marketing and, frankly, through family resemblance. So with that said, I highly recommend checking out my full review of the latest … Continue reading
Chronicle director Josh Trank deserves unquestioned accolades if only for how deftly he weaves together two tired ideas– found footage narratives and superhero origin stories– and ends up with something fresh and engaging. Frankly, he cheats at both (though more at the former than the latter), but when your primary cast members can levitate the camera … Continue reading
Moonrise Kingdom marks the most singularly Wes Andersony film of Wes Anderson’s career to date. It also represents a perfect vehicle for the quirks and tics that define his vision as a filmmaker– that impeccable and odd sense of style, seen in his set designs, costuming choices, and musical accompaniments, as well as the trademark … Continue reading
Doubling up again on the show’s second season installments, this week I ponder and analyze the events of the fifth and sixth episodes of S2– including the shocking reduction in overall nakedness, the repercussions of poorly-employed authority, and the inexperience of youth. Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 