Review: Robert Smigel’s ‘The Week Of’
“Like an aging fighter that steps into the ring on short notice, Robert Smigel’s ‘The Week Of’ is overweight, unfocused and hungry for a paycheck.”
Making a Movie Is Humiliating: Alex Ross Perry on His Career So Far
Julia Yepes Interviews Filmmaker Alex Ross Perry
Vague Visages Writers’ Room: April 2018 Revelations
In the Vague Visages Writers’ Room on Slack, freelancers were asked to comment about new discoveries from April 2018.
Review: Janus Metz’s ‘Borg vs McEnroe’
“‘Borg vs McEnroe’ loses momentum during its tennis sequences, but that’s just a minor complaint. Advantage LaBeouf.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Assia Boundaoui’s ‘The Feeling of Being Watched’
“Unlike many documentaries of its ilk, ‘The Feeling of Being Watched’ is not weighed down by doomsaying or sensationalism; instead, the picture it paints of community organization is genuinely hopeful.”
Inherited Trauma and Jewish Themes in ‘Ghost Stories’
“Finally facing the ghost actually releases the tension. And so, it is only by facing a trauma like the Holocaust that future generations can begin to relieve its effects.”
Photo Essay by Andy Witchger: Phoebe Bridgers at St. Paul’s Turf Club
“Phoebe Bridgers’ songs are intimate and conversational, perfectly crafted for small, dimly-lit venues like St. Paul’s Turf Club.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Jason Reitman’s ‘Tully’
“There’s a calculated precision to both Reitman’s direction and Cody’s screenplay. The film is perfectly paced and cut, and moves with a rat-a-tat rhythm; the writing is sharp and specific, with a zinger in every other line.”
Album Review: Drinks ‘Hippo Lite’
“The music of Drinks is uncategorizable, yet addictive. For those who crave something that genuinely challenges the ears, ‘Hippo Lite’ is a real find.”
Review: Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s ‘Ghost Stories’
“Nyman and Dyson’s film is so full-bloodedly cinematic that it leaves one wondering how on earth they captured this on the stage.”
Calendars, Storms and Coming Home: Rituparno Ghosh’s ‘Unishe April’
“To understand Ghosh’s cinema, it is important to understand the director’s gradual but persevering separation from gender binaries and roles.”
Loneliness and the Romance of Death: On Alain Guiraudie’s ‘Stranger by the Lake’
“In us all lurks a potential Franck — desperate for intimacy, willing to risk oblivion for a moment’s embrace.”
Escapism in Dark Places: How ‘Allure’ Accurately Captures Despair
“Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s ‘Allure’ might be one of the most beautifully distressing movies of the past year.”
Album Review: A Place to Bury Strangers ‘Pinned’
“With ‘Pinned,’ A Place to Bury Strangers shows that the band’s exploration of ‘one good idea’ continues to yield amazing results.”
Vague Visages Writers’ Room: Favorite New Wave Films
In the Vague Visages Writers’ Room on Slack, freelancers were asked to comment about their favorite new wave films from any international movement.
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Guy Maddin’s ‘The Green Fog’
“Coherence is the last concern in ‘The Green Fog,’ whose beauty is comprised in the hidden connections between the city-film tropes.”
Portraits of Women in Film Noir
“Film noir is all about questioning assumptions, and several of such films that feature portraits of women do nothing less.”
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Vahid Jalilvand’s ‘No Date, No Signature’
“‘No Date, No Signature’ excels by subtly examining themes of integrity and moral duties.”
Photo Essay by Andy Witchger: Dessa at Minneapolis’ First Avenue
Dessa, Minneapolis’ multi-hyphenate MC, took the stage at a sold out First Avenue on Friday night, April 6, 2018.
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Ya-chuan Hsiao’s ‘Father to Son’
“The father’s strength lies in knowing when to ‘protect the heart by pretending to have no heart,’ and the moment when he chooses to do so is devastating.”