Karyn Kusama’s ‘Destroyer’: The Question of Identity
“Kusama skillfully reinterprets the stylistics of classic film noir to explore the genre’s timeless and heady themes: obsession, loneliness, guilt and (most of all) identity…”
Review: Nicholas Brennan’s ‘Los Últimos Frikis’
“Nicholas Brennan’s film makes a hugely convincing argument for following your dreams at all costs.”
Sharing the Cinematic Bathwater: From Wim to Jim
“In retrospect, a film can seem so intentional, with every artistic choice so deliberate, that you can’t imagine it being any other way. But these movies that last for generations are often shaped by whims and circumstance.”
12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #5 – ‘Dog Day Afternoon’
“By creating such a sympathetic, human subject, Lumet deepens the impact of his institutional critique of the justice system; its dehumanizing effect on American society seems all the more tragic when Sonny is its victim.”
Review: Mike Flanagan’s ‘Doctor Sleep’
“In a weird way, Flanagan might have inadvertently made the best X-Men movie to date.”
Review: Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’
“At once riveting and entertaining, while inciting in the viewer visceral and arduous self-reflection, ‘Marriage Story’ is an uncompromising and deeply affectionate reflection on what pulls us apart and yet what keeps us bound together despite it all.”
The Absent Presence in ‘Klute’
“In dramatizing themes of absence and presence so thoroughly, ‘Klute’ embodies a central feature of neo-noir; as a self-conscious revision of a classic film cycle, noir is always both absent and present in neo-noir films.”
I Sing for Myself: Renée and Judy on Judy Garland
“Judy the Actress and Judy the Icon may have been one in the same after all.”
Robert Eggers Unlocks ‘The Lighthouse’
“‘The Witch’ may be the superior film, but ‘The Lighthouse’ shows Eggers growing by leaps and bounds as a storyteller and visual stylist.”
There’s No One Driving the Car: ‘Hustlers’ as Neo-Noir
“From the moment Ramona first appears, ‘Hustlers’ announces itself as a new addition to the neo-noir cannon — a film about bright lights in dark places.”
The Man Who Laughs: Richard Widmark’s Early Noirs
“Widmark offers a succession of performances in ‘Kiss of Death, ‘The Street with No Name’ and ‘Road House’ that show a young actor building, then resisting, and then reconciling his own burgeoning screen persona.”
Review: Alice Waddington’s ‘Paradise Hills’
“One can’t help but wonder how Waddington might reinvigorate other sci-fi tales with her fairy tale stylings.”
Cinema Viscera: Italian Zombie Horror
“This is a world where faith, governments, businesses, families and the other institutions humans have built will all crumble, just like human bodies, which will inevitably succumb to their fragility and fall victim to total destruction.”
Review: Alexa-Jeanne Dubé’s ‘SDR’
“Based on ‘Oui mais non’ and ‘S.D.R.,’ Dubé seems fully capable of tackling various genres, and taking the medium forward into the future.”
Review: Ciro Guerra’s ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’
“‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ is utterly removed from anything of Italy, and yet echoes the most vulgar and despicable parts of film culture.”
Photo Essay by Andy Witchger: Sleater-Kinney at St. Paul’s Palace Theatre
“Watching Sleater-Kinney perform 25 years into their existence, it’s clear we need them now more than ever. Amid social upheaval and a resurgence of overt prejudice and bigotry, artists willing to carry the flag of resistance are essential.”
Manic Lust in Neo-Giallo ‘Knife + Heart’
“As a love letter to a cinematic wave of films that were (and are) often dismissed as style devoid of substance, ‘Knife+Heart’ triumphs in both story and genre evolution.”
Review: Ruben Fleischer’s ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’
“Despite the warmed-up leftovers, ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’ manages to locate a few bright spots, and none are more appealing than Zoey Deutch.”
Review: Marianne Métivier’s ‘She Who Wears the Rain’
“‘She Who Wears the Rain’ shows how lucid dreaming engagement can help people cope with mental health issues.”
Review: Milena Lurie’s ‘Entangled’
“‘Entangled’ feels like a clunky ‘Love in New York’ story during the first hour, but ultimately transforms into a moving tale about self-love and acceptance.”