“While Lang never fully embraced socialist principles over the course of his career, he always seemed to have a violent distaste for the men who stood on the shoulders of those who were less fortunate, knowing full well that social class does not correlate a strong moral conscious.”
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
“Refn provides a movie with universal appeal, displaying how pathetic and desperate human beings can be in their moments of weakness, insecurity and greed.”
“If ‘Tampopo’ initially seems familiar, it’s only because Itami masks the exterior as a Western.”
“The film has an unusually conservative vibe for a noir, maintaining that the status quo may be boring but criminality has nothing to offer — not even carnal thrills.”
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Neaux Reel Idea is a Vague Visages column by Bill Arceneaux, in which he explores the cinema of his native New Orleans.
“Carpenter doesn’t frame the film as being about an outlier male abuser, but a culture that has little respect for a woman’s personal space.”
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
“History, in the form of motion picture entertainment, continues to surprise.”
“Identity, like meaning in ‘Dekalog,’ is delivered piecemeal. Do immediate deeds define a person, or are these characters more than what they do in any given episode?”
“Anvari proves himself capable of creating a film with style, substance and importance.”
“In many ways, ‘Christine’ reflects a skepticism of the ‘I take what I want, when I want it’ system that emerges when consumerism becomes the dominant ideological force of society.”
“In search of new worlds and experiences, this year’s FNC has been a journey from the physical world to the metaphysical.”
“Jamming its artistic support into the final few moments, ‘Mascots’ just checks off boxes.”
Neaux Reel Idea is a Vague Visages column by Bill Arceneaux, in which he explores the cinema of his native New Orleans.
“At the heart of ‘Prince of Darkness,’ the failures of religion and science reflect the limits of the human mind to grasp the immensity of the universe and our menial position within it.”
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
“In John Carpenter’s ‘In the Mouth of Madness,’ the delicate reality in which we live exists only as far we as believe it.”
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith