“Best of Criterion’s New Releases, April 2020”

Me, you, and everyone we know, including Destry and the Cremator, take a trip to the Grand Budapest Hotel but get caught out by an army of shadows. Continue reading →

“Tayarisha Poe Wants You to Give Teenagers Some Space”

For the record, “Selah and the Spades” would be a totally awesome name for a rock ‘n roll band. Continue reading →

“How Wes Anderson Sneaks Stop-Motion Animation Into Every Film He Makes”

I’ve written some stuff about Wes Anderson and stop-motion animation in the past, tied to Fantastic Mr. Fox back in 2009, so I guess it’s only right that I wrote some stuff today, in 2018, about Wes Anderson and stop-motion animation tied to Isle of Dogs, his new and super complicated movie about an island populated by dogs. … Continue reading →

“Bottle Rocket” at 20

Bottle Rocket, Wes Anderson’s 1996 debut feature, turned twenty years old this past Sunday. It’s weird to think that the movie could possibly be that old, but it’s weirder still to consider it in light of how much Anderson’s style has changed since he first premiered it two decades ago. Watching Bottle Rocket along with, … Continue reading →

Review: Moonrise Kingdom, 2012, dir. Wes Anderson

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 →

15 Films ACVF Is Excited About In 2012

In my book, 2011 has been a great year for movies. Good stuff has abounded throughout this particular revolution of the planet, both on the side of light lifting– Limitless, Paul, Cedar Rapids, Captain America— and in the realms of more substantial material, such as Drive, Weekend, The Tree of Life, and Win Win. Even … Continue reading →

The Cinematic Decade: My Top 25 of the 2000s (pt. 1)

It’s close to the end of the year, and traditionally this is when people start compiling their year-end lists. But this isn’t just the end of the year, it’s the end of the decade. So on behalf of that, in addition to a top 10 of 2009, I’m putting together my top 25 of the … Continue reading →

A Useful Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009, dir. Wes Anderson

Hotbox. With his latest film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson seems to have stumbled upon something truly revelatory in his career: The man was born to make movies using stop-motion animation. Anderson is a man obsessed with minutiae, the tiny details in a film that might seem trifling or inconsequential when looked at in a … Continue reading →

The Absent Mr. Anderson

I’m not a Hollywood insider. I’m not even a film insider. I have no contacts that exist in any realm of the cinematic world. I have never visited a set, or been given the opportunity to interview an actor or a director in regards to their latest anticipated film. So maybe my opinion on Wes … Continue reading →