A movie so thick with dialogue, kink, suppressed violence, period references, and sexy sex that I’m not sure I really got it all the first time around. Continue reading
Tagged with period films …
“‘Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’ Is About Truly Being Seen By Another”
One of the “best films of 2019” is now actually opening in theaters, so really it’s one of the best films of 2020, but really it’s a great movie in any year and you should see it. Continue reading
Review: Lizzie, 2018, dir. Craig William Macneill
Nothing clever here: Just a blunt-ass takedown of a really, really bad movie. I’m not sure if Lizzie thinks it’s higher class than it is, or…wait, yes I am. It’s a Lizzie Borden biopic that skimps way the hell out on murder, saving the best known part of the Borden legend until somewhere close to the … Continue reading
Interview: Whit Stillman, “Love & Friendship”
I must confess that I am uncertain whether I laughed as appropriate during my interview with Whit Stillman; he has just the driest sense of humor, so I either came off as genuine and hip to his drollery, or I sounded like an ignorant, braying jackass. I’ll probably never know. But he’s a good dude … Continue reading
Review: Valhalla Rising, 2009, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
It’s amazing what a second viewing of a film can do to alter one’s perception and reaction to it. A while back, in my review of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s excellent Bronson, I mentioned my admiration for Valhalla Rising— his 2009 follow-up– in the body of the review itself as well as in discussions … Continue reading
Review: Black Death, 2011, dir. Christopher Smith
Black Death‘s biggest draw might be Christopher Smith, director of such horror fare as the well-meaning but woefully forthcoming Triangle, the humorous and gory Severance, and Creep— which I haven’t caught myself. Smith’s latest shows roots in the horror genre, to be sure, but Black Death is the kind of film that wants to play … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 