Review: Jane Campion’s ‘The Power of the Dog’
“It is surely a disservice to reduce Campion’s filmography to a study in gender, despite the longstanding focus of so much scholarship.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘The Harder They Fall’
‘The Harder They Fall’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Jeymes Samuel’s 2021 Netflix movie.
Know the Cast: ‘The Harder They Fall’
‘The Harder They Fall’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every main performer and character in Jeymes Samuel’s 2021 Netflix movie.
Review: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Cry Macho’
“While ‘Cry Macho’ succeeds with the set-up character scenes, it fails with its overall execution.”
Know the Cast: ‘Cry Macho’
‘Cry Macho’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every main performer and character in Clint Eastwood’s 2021 movie.
Know the Cast: ‘Massacre Time’
‘Massacre Time’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every main performer and character in Lucio Fulci’s 1966 movie.
Monte Hellman: A Master of the Language of Cinema
Author Joseph B. Atkins on Filmmaker Monte Hellman’s Life and Career
Black Gold: Cinema, Wealth and Blackness
Brian Brems on ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, ‘Da 5 Bloods’ and ‘Trespass’
Berlinale 2020 Review: Kelly Reichardt’s ‘First Cow’
“Reichardt’s story has the mythic quality of a fable, but refrains from moralising or casting judgement on the misdeeds and mistakes of its characters.”
The Beautiful Brutality of Sergio Corbucci’s ‘The Great Silence’
“‘The Great Silence’ is miles away from the graceful, operatic majesty of Leone’s more famous entries. Corbucci’s cynical vision is fashioned from a style that is brutal and spontaneous…”
The Western Enters the 70s – Part 4: The Iconoclast’s Dilemma
“Faced with the death of its utopian hopes, the remnants of America’s counterculture split into two tendencies: the pastoral and the criminal. Its despondency was turned inwards and outwards; one side sought to build alternative structures in line with a higher authority, while the other strove to rearrange the wreckage of the existing order.”
Once Upon a Time in Tarantinoland: ‘Django Unchained’ Is Mature and Packed with Postmodern Trademarks
“‘Django Unchained’ is packed with Tarantino’s postmodern trademarks, but it also has the added value of actually addressing some serious issues.”
The Western Enters the 70s – Part 2: Kicking Down the Doors
“With the Acid Western, the genre had once again proven itself capable of assimilating new grievances and anxieties.”
The Western Enters the 70s – Part 1: Sam Peckinpah’s Lonely Cowboy
“With his concern for the outsider, and his reorienting of the West’s perception in the American mind, Peckinpah helped to birth the Acid Western.”
In an Excellent Debut, Writer-Director Nia DaCosta Explores ‘Little Woods’
“Sexism and toxic masculinity are not unusual in this genre, but DaCosta’s emphasis on sisterhood and the presentation of a female point of view turn ‘Little Woods’ into a fresh, must-see cinematic experience.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘El Topo’
“Jodorowsky’s film is a potpourri of consecrated iconography and symbolism, providing ‘El Topo’ a breadth of sacred resonance and no doubt augmenting its potential for provocation and interpretation.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’
“‘The Searchers’ has moments of low-brow comedy and moments of penetrating tension, its interconnected themes involve love and guilt, and its visual and spiritual essence falls somewhere in the realm of poetic melancholy.”