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…”
Romantic Horror in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Movie Adaptations
“The six major theatrical adaptations of Phantom’s story cover a wide realm of romantic horror, fully exploiting the themes and concepts within the character.”
Tobe Hooper’s ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Offers a Close-Up Look at Cosmic Pessimism
“Under its brutal dissembling of anthropocentrism and customary moral divides, ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ points to the terror of a harsh and uncaring universe.”
‘Santa Sangre’: A Graveyard for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Memories
“Santa Sangre’s themes of empathy and hope are uniquely personal for Jodorowsky, and they help bring the film’s horrors and bloodshed into perspective…”
Encounters Film Festival: ‘Betty’ and the Failed Romance Movie
“‘Betty,’ through the simplest of guises — bare-bones animation, a bit of music and a wry, haphazard director’s commentary — is an impressive feat of doing a lot with extremely little.”
Shudder Slashics: Joe Giannone’s ‘Madman’ Squanders Its Potential
“‘Madman’ frequently flirts with boundary-pushing concepts but ultimately settles for clichés or, worse, just weasels out completely and falls flat on its face.”
Don Hertzfeldt Expands the Universe Again in ‘World of Tomorrow’ Episode Three
“If Hertzfeldt’s ability to successfully expand on the emotional terrain and metaphysical considerations of previous chapters is a recipe, then he is an impeccable cinematic chef de cuisine.”
The Gothic Splendour of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’
“Rebecca’s greatness stems from its faithful approach to the Gothic roots of du Maurier’s novel, foregrounding all of the most important themes like repression of the past and marriages full of conflict.”
Encounters Film Festival: Science Fiction and Islam Meet in ‘So What If the Goats Die?’
“How much is our response conditioned by our willingness to see causality in correlation, regardless of the original artistic intention?”
In Praise of 90s Gwyneth Paltrow
“It’s easy to feel a sense of loss for the great actress and movie star that Paltrow could have become, had she not lost interest in the profession and shifted her attention to her questionable business empire.”
Local Heroes: Alistair Ryder on Odeon Leeds-Bradford
“If the cinema was responsible for so many happy childhood memories, how could I continue to embrace reminiscing when it was equally responsible for the soul-crushing tedium of a public-facing retail job?”
Shudder Slashics: Buddy Cooper’s ‘The Mutilator’ Still Boasts a Killer Hook
“Having the killer unmasked and identified is a fresh take on a well-worn trope, while the accidental matricide angle offers a unique, strong premise to kick-start the eventual mini-massacre.”
Encounters Film Festival: The Importance of Geopolitics, Poverty and Donkeys in ‘The Heavy Burden’
“Whether it is economic, ethnic or geopolitical, ‘The Heavy Burden’ keeps finding new ways to frame the marginal life of its protagonists.”
Encounters Film Festival: Troubled Pasts and Open Futures Collide in ‘Father’
“In just 23 minutes, ‘Vader’ presents a nuanced and complex picture of fatherhood, as shaped by both individual personalities and wider social events.”
Time Cascades: On the Absent Collaborators Programme at Open City Documentary Festival
“These tentative, tangential films each act like a pause for reflection, a moment of reprieve from life itself as the makers each summon a voice from their past to explore their present.”
Miranda July Mints ‘Kajillionaire’
“Never weird for the sake of weird, July’s movies are perfectly prismatic, refracting facets of recognizable life experiences through the singularity and peculiarity of her vision.”
Unpacking the Red Rooms of Horror
“The Red Room is something to conquer or contend with, just like the monsters of the real world.”
How ‘Showgirls’ Takes Busby Berkeley to the City of Sin
“Where Berkeley uses excess as a contrast to the real world, Verhoeven uses it as a magnifying glass.”
Open Spaces, Solid Foundations: ‘The American Sector’ and ‘The Building’ at Open City Documentary Festival
“While ‘The American Sector’ outstays its welcome, I’m not sure if ‘The Building’ wants to be invited in to begin with.”
‘She Dies Tomorrow’: Amy Seimetz Contemplates the End
“Even though Seimetz’s ‘ideological contagion’ might have its roots in coping strategies for depression and a range of mental health issues, the director works wonders by imagining how one might react upon learning about their imminent death.”