12 Angry Films: Sidney Lumet on Justice #3 – ‘The Offence’
“For a filmmaker usually so concerned with the social causes of injustice, ‘The Offence’ is remarkably focused on the troubled psychology of its central character.”
“For a filmmaker usually so concerned with the social causes of injustice, ‘The Offence’ is remarkably focused on the troubled psychology of its central character.”
“Johnson loves whodunits so much that he racked his brain to think 10 steps ahead of the audience so that he could hoodwink them to serve the goal of establishing the genreโs viability in the present day, all while staying true to its classic roots.”
“An efficient script and commanding central performance from Sarah Bolger produce a memorable film with mostly intelligently drawn characters.”
“The Kitchen fares so much better when read as a kind of self-aware meta-narrative of the gangster film, and an examination of Berloffโs construction of the men is one argument for why this rare, female-helmed genre piece deserves a second look.”
“While it might be easy to assume that films like ‘Natural Born Killers’ and ‘Funny Games’ simply demonise their audiences as wanting the thrill of violence without thinking about the consequence of it, the films instead ask questions, instead of only providing answers.”
“When looking at Tarantino’s filmography, ‘Theย Hateful Eight’ doesnโt hold a candle to works like ‘Pulp Fiction’ or ‘Kill Bill,’ but itโs an entertaining film nonetheless — if you donโt mind the runtime.”
“The close proximity of sudden, shocking violence to the humor challenges viewer expectations, and despite a few notable exceptions in the movieโs later sections, Stearns successfully pulls off his tricks.”
“‘Too Old to Die Young’ is rough around the edges, and perhaps deliberately so. Itโs almost as if the writers are two brothers in a car fighting between soft rock and techno on the radio.”
Julia Bozzone on Quad Cinema’s Fresh Meat: Giallo Restorations, Part Two
“‘Year of the Dragon’ offers little comfort, and when it does, Cimino heavily suggests its victories are hollow and insincere. It is a dark-mirror exercise in genre fragmentation that shatters the vigilante cop thriller into thousands of pieces and lays its ugliest instincts frighteningly bare.”
“Both Lucas and Lynchโs world views allow for the possibility of personal atonement, and for external peace emerging from inner peace.”
“Spaces are key to Lumetโs vision of the justice system; the ideas that bind it together must play out in physical spaces, and in them, Lumet finds the embodiment of all its flaws and virtues.”
“The questions ‘New Money’ poses are numerous and mostly left unanswered. The film is scattershot at times and tonally inconsistent throughout, flirting with elements of a crime thriller and a goofy comedy.”
“At least, ‘The Death of Dick Long’ isย a homecoming for the Alabamian Scheinert that uses his warped view of the place to create a glowing nostalgia and a strong vision for American Indie cinema.”
“The gritty and hard-nosed film noir genre is rife with actors and directors that helped to not only change conversations about American cinema, but also the nationโs consciousness.”
“All in all, ‘the 4th film by Quentin Tarantino’ is a wild, eclectic action movie with visual flair, great performances and personality up the wazoo.”
“As a whole, ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 โ Parabellum’ is a fun romp and continues the Greek/pulp mythology set up in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2.’ In future installments, Stahelski might want to tone down the campiness, otherwise the series will lunge into self-parody.”
“Food, particularly junk food, plays a large role in ‘Chungking Express’ by signifying the type of sweet but ultimately fleeting connections (and self-doubt) that occur so frequently for the characters in the bustling Chungking Mansions.”
“While ‘Jackie Brown’ does revel in nostalgia and feature its fair share of firearms, itโs a much more subdued, nuanced and mature film than any of Tarantino’s previous works, or any other production within his entire filmography.’
“One of the greatest pleasures of ‘See You Yesterday’ is that the challenges and complexities of the jumps get better as the story unfolds.”