Weird Worlds: The Short Films of Ari Aster
“Aster’s short films are at present the best representation of his eclectic taste and elastic interests.”
“Aster’s short films are at present the best representation of his eclectic taste and elastic interests.”
“Melville’s Paris is a poetically insomniac version, one that I’m not sure ever really existed. The City of Light has been written about and filmed so much that one has long since forgotten what is real and what is urban legend.”
“‘Twilight’ is a remarkable film with its loaded minimalism and spectacular formalism.”
“In a climate of secular uncertainty, the addict’s commitment to something larger took on an almost religious significance; the user was transformed into an intrepid traveler.”
“In Mann’s world, the car and the computer seem to join forces to anonymize and obliterate the cost of human life outside of that space, enveloped in the fragmented, disintegrated aesthetic of early digital cinematography itself.”
“Kubrick was in many ways the embodiment of a new Hollywood — brilliant, creative and perhaps a bit ruthless, words that could also be used to describe his first great film, ‘The Killing.'”
“As the 70s dawned, survival for Dean Martin became a matter of staying on the horse and waiting for the culture to loop back in his favor, to mature into the venerated relic who had come direct from the bar.”
“Michael B. Jordan makes his directorial debut with a sturdy piece of franchise storytelling.”
“‘Pickup on South Street’ is perhaps the quintessential New York noir.”
“Like so many of the best movies, ‘Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’ captures the universal in the specific.”
“‘Kim’s Video’ reminds viewers that there was something very special about browsing the shelves of shops both large and small.”
“Hou’s mise-en-scène in ‘Millenium Mambo’ is the mark of a true auteur.”
“It becomes evident that the director’s preoccupation with Elisabeth ‘coming apart’ at the age of 40 is the key component of ‘Corsage’ that transcends time to become a commentary on any era.”
“‘Leaving Home, Coming Home’ is a sharp snapshot of a photography titan. All the ingredients! Chaos and clarity, freedom and free intuition.”
“‘The Eternal Daughter’ can be viewed independently from the pair of stories starring Swinton’s own daughter Honor Swinton Byrne, but the in-world connections provide an extra layer of enjoyment.”
“Shimmering like a mirage that retreats and dematerializes the closer one gets, ‘Aftersun’ may just be the best movie of 2022.”