How ‘Showgirls’ Takes Busby Berkeley to the City of Sin
“Where Berkeley uses excess as a contrast to the real world, Verhoeven uses it as a magnifying glass.”
‘She Dies Tomorrow’: Amy Seimetz Contemplates the End
“Even though Seimetz’s ‘ideological contagion’ might have its roots in coping strategies for depression and a range of mental health issues, the director works wonders by imagining how one might react upon learning about their imminent death.”
Review: Sidharth Srinivasan’s ‘Kriya’
“Unfortunately, Kriya’s script is the weakest link. Much of the dialogue sounds like it was lifted straight from a soap opera, and the film occasionally veers into melodrama, which isn’t particularly becoming for a folk horror film set almost entirely in a single location.”
Memories of Place in Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Virgin Suicides’
“Although the events in ‘The Virgin Suicides’ may not be presented through an innately nostalgic lens, they become a binding source of nostalgia by viewing the film 20 years after its initial wide release.”
‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’: Charlie Kaufman Knows You Can’t Always Get What You Want
“Point of view and selfhood have assumed for Kaufman a place of great consequence from ‘Being John Malkovich’ to ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ to ‘Anomalisa,’ and ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ is a remarkable extension.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Noah Hutton’s ‘Lapsis’
“‘Lapsis’ offers the intriguing and hopeful possibility that our technologically dependent future may not be so bad after all.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: John Hyams’ ‘Alone’
“Even seen without the lens of current events, ‘Alone’ is a harrowing experience that earns its power by being uncomfortably credible.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Sabrina Mertens’ ‘Time of Moulting’
“It may seem strange to qualify Mertens’ audaciously original production as ‘horror’ when it has no gory set pieces, jump scares, monsters or special effects. Yet, despite a lack of these things, ‘Time of Moulting’ is very much a horror film.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Natasha Kermani’s ‘Lucky’
“‘Lucky’ is a rallying cry for women everywhere to fight back, to keep speaking up and to go it alone when all else fails.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Adam Rehmeier’s ‘Dinner in America’
“‘Dinner in America’ is a special movie with a genuinely punk rock feel and a charmingly odd couple at its heart. There are enough laughs and swoon-worthy moments to mark it out as the best, and weirdest, rom-com in years.”
An Interview with ‘Choked’ Screenwriter Nihit Brave
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Choked’ Screenwriter Nihit Brave
‘She Dies Tomorrow’: Fear, Death and the Almighty Wrath of Mozart
“Through a graceful use of Mozart’s music, ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ urges the audience to question their lives and unavoidable deaths.”
The Banality of Xenophobia in R.W. Fassbinder’s ‘Katzelmacher’
“The virility of the unwanted foreigner is a typical focal point for the average xenophobe.”
Review: Egor Abramenko’s ‘Sputnik’
“‘Sputnik’ is a thoughtful, knotty sci-fi thriller that’s firmly character-driven and also boasts a horrifyingly beautiful creature.”
Sion Sono’s ‘Tokyo Vampire Hotel’ Is Trauma Porn, and Maybe That’s OK
“The most remarkable feature of ‘Tokyo Vampire Hotel’ is its timeliness. Though the series was released in 2017, it takes place in 2021, and something about it feels distinctly ‘2020s,’ distinctly of the cinema to come, if not distinctly of 2020 and the present moment.”
One Tough Nun: Spiritual Awakening in Isabel Sandoval’s ‘Aparisyon’
“It’s a fascinating experience to see ‘Aparisyon’ via Locarno’s ‘Open Doors’ strand, where it is presented as a key work in understanding contemporary Filipino cinema.”
World Cinema Project: Permanent Impermanence — ‘Pixote’ and ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’
“‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ shares with ‘Pixote’ a cautious destabilization, a sense of how long can this last, of tipping points, radical reform and the capricious aftermath.”
Interview: Kôji Fukada on the Mysteries of ‘A Girl Missing’
Marshall Shaffer Interviews ‘A Girl Missing’ Director Kôji Fukada
The Past Dreamed the Future Present: Derek Jarman’s ‘Jubilee’
“Jarman’s mix of time, history, memory, fantasy and dreams in ‘Jubilee’ is ultimately a hopeful warning for the future.”
Dreams and Horrors in Bohemia: ‘Marketa Lazarová’ and ‘Valerie and Her Week of Wonders’
“As much as I love a good story, the best movies always transport me, in an intangible sense, through the base elements.”