Review: The Juniper Tree, 1990, dir. Nietzchka Keene

Can a movie made in 1990 that’s only just now being released in theaters REALLY be called a 1990 movie? Maybe. But also maybe not. How about both? Either way, it’s a damn masterpiece. Continue reading →

Review: The Shape of Water, 2017, dir. Guillermo del Toro

Well, you can probably guess how this intro blurb is going to go. I can’t help it. Guillermo del Toro’s movies speak to me. His grasp on the language of cinema is such that his movies always hit me right in my brain-spot. (Tangential truth: I pity people who don’t vibe with his work. They’re … Continue reading →

Review: Pete’s Dragon, 2016, dir. David Lowery

Pete’s Dragon worked for me. This is as surprising a development for me as it is for everyone who knows me. Let’s examine the facts: I’m not a huge fan of Lowery’s last film, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, such that I have not bothered to go back and see his other films. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is … Continue reading →

Review: Cinderella, 2015, dir. Kenneth Branagh

“The most inventive thing about Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella may be that it’s not particularly inventive at all. That’s because it doesn’t have to be—it’s Cinderella. Branagh’s take on the ages old fairy tale is a handsomely made affair, but it’s the vein of self-assurance running beneath his aesthetics that makes his film feel vital. Rather … Continue reading →

Review: Brave, 2012, dir. Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman

​It’s no secret that I’ve been eagerly awaiting ​the release of ​Brave​ since 2009 (back when it still bore the superior title of ​The Bear and the Bow​); it hits theaters today, and it turns out there’s bad news and good news. The bad news about Brave is that it’s lesser Pixar. The good news is that lesser Pixar is still magical, transporting, and beautiful. Continue reading →

Review: Ondine, 2010, dir. Neil Jordan

Fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell) boards his vessel and carries out his daily routine one morning. Quite unexpectedly, his trawling nets pull in something more than his normal catch; he finds a woman (Alicja Bachelda), close to death and suffering from amnesia so severe that she cannot remember her own name. She calls herself Ondine, and … Continue reading →