Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘School of Rock’
‘School of Rock’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Richard Linklater’s 2003 movie.
Know the Cast: ‘School of Rock’
‘School of Rock’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every main performer and character in Richard Linklater’s 2003 movie.
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles’
‘Happier Than Ever’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Osborne’s 2021 Billie Eilish concert special on Disney+.
Review: Sian Heder’s ‘CODA’
“Though Coda’s representation of deaf characters is insightful and moving, the film’s reliance on cheap sentimentality threatens its most perceptive and entertaining qualities.”
Review: Sian Heder’s ‘CODA’
“Even though the comic juxtapositions can be as broad as the side of a barn in ‘CODA,’ the familial conflicts on the flip side of the coin resonate with hard truths.”
Review: Carlos López Estrada’s ‘Summertime’
“‘Summertime’ feels wrong-headed, even if its heart is in the right place.”
The Rediscovered: Bertrand Bonello’s ‘Ingrid Caven: Music and Voice’
“In Paris on a night in 2012, or from a screen in 2021, one may see in Ingrid Caven’s ecstatic performance something that touches the raptures.”
Review: Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)’
“Questlove assembles the wide range of elements with the skill of a seasoned scholar and practitioner, blending songs with memories in a master mix made especially challenging given the staggering amount of talent and the desire to tell the accompanying story.”
Review: Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’
“Built to impress longtime listeners and new ears alike, Wright’s love letter to Ron and Russell Mael complements the sensibilities of the masterminds behind glories like ‘Kimono My House’ and ‘Angst in My Pants.'”
Review: Jon M. Chu’s ‘In the Heights’
“‘In the Heights’ is far from a smooth transition from stage to screen, but the film remains an infectiously charming tale of community, and a far more incisive piece of social commentary than one might expect from the creator of ‘Hamilton.'”
The Metaphorical and Elusive Camera of ‘The Disciple’
“‘The Disciple’ can be highly rewarding if one notices and appreciates its technical brilliance. Criticizing the film for its slow pace and aloof camerawork is akin to labeling classical music as boring and tedious.”
Review: Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘The Disciple’
“Without being judgmental, ‘The Disciple’ succeeds in questioning the age-old notion of sacrifice as a means to attaining higher goals.”
Intentionally Disposable Art: The Teen Agers Films
“What do we do with the Teen Agers movies, which were no more intended to be seen 75 years later than a dinner cooked in 1947 was intended to be eaten in 2021?”
Pandemic-Era Prophecies of Godfrey Reggio’s ‘Koyaanisqatsi’
“Nearly 40 years after its release, ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ continues to send signals.”
Review: Darius Marder’s ‘Sound of Metal’
“Watching Ahmed flourish without words, typically an actor’s lifeline, is a joy. It’s a massive challenge, and he rises to it with aplomb in ‘Sound of Metal.'”
Spike Lee Visits David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’
“The 68-year-old Byrne of today is less livewire, exposed-nerve, performance-art provocateur and more professorial elder statesman…”
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.”
Review: Alison Ellwood’s ‘The Go-Go’s’
“‘The Go-Go’s’ boasts a treasure chest full of archival content in all shapes and sizes, and the imagery almost always complements the anecdotes told by the subjects with delightful detail.”
Review: Spike Jonze’s ‘Beastie Boys Story’
“If you listen to Beastie Boys, Jonze’s technique — a familiar blend of rough and smooth, high tech and low tech — comes correct. If you don’t listen to Beastie Boys, the movie serves as a biographical and musical introduction.”
Review: Boaz Yakin’s ‘Aviva’
“Aviva and Eden’s dances — together and apart — mobilize Yakin’s film, and function as bodily mirrors and emotional mirages; gain and loss, self and love.”