The Joy of Creating: On Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Hana-bi’
“‘Hana-bi’ is a deeply personal labour of love made by an artist observing his own enigmatic nature from a variety of angles in an attempt to arrive at some clarifying epiphany.”
Clothes Make the Man: Remembering Harry Dean Stanton
“Harry Dean Stanton was dependable, durable and made whatever part his own, no matter how big or small.”
Low-Budget and Lurid: Inside the Macabre Cinematic Universe of Roger Corman’s Poe Cycle
“To watch Roger Corman’s Poe movies is to visit a mythic dreamscape where the boundaries between life and death are permeable.”
Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien: Covenant’: Another Look at the Power of Creation and Destruction
“The stories and conflicts of Scott’s android characters cause viewers to contemplate a number of issues relevant to the human condition.”
My Summer of Dunst: Series Conclusion
“Kirsten Dunst deserves an apology, and a second look, from all of us.”
‘American Made’: Cruising into Character
“One doesn’t expect an immediate return to iconic roles like Vincent Lauria or T.J. Mackey, but hopefully Barry Seal is just the start.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Kate Saccone on Lotte Reiniger’s ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’
“As the artist who painstakingly moved her hand-cut figures frame-by-frame, Reiniger’s presence is impossible to ignore while watching her films.”
Ten Years Later, Adam Green’s Cult Slasher ‘Hatchet’ Still Cuts
“It’s rare to find a movie that pays homage to the good ol’ days while also paving its own way, but ‘Hatchet’ is that.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Louis Malle’s ‘Black Moon’
“Communication — or the lack thereof — is key to ‘Black Moon.’”
‘Rat Film’: Light and Dirt, Cinema and Rodents
“The past informs the present.”
TIFF 2017 Capsule Reviews
TIFF 2017: ‘Dark River,’ ‘Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc,’ ‘Alanis,’ ‘Beast,’ ‘Occidental’
Dead Kennedys at TIFF 2017: The Rise of a New Zeitgeist
“Step aside, LBJ, your time in the spotlight is done.”
Andy Muschietti’s ‘It’ Struggles with Adaptation
“As an adaptation of a great 20th century novel, ‘It’ completely misses the mark.”
The Return of ‘Twin Peaks’ and the Pleasures of a Myopic Anomaly
“I felt challenged to endure something so terrifying, so relentlessly destabilizing. I felt fear.”
The Woman and the Puppet: On Abel Ferrara’s ‘New Rose Hotel’
“Her power lies in her opaqueness.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on David Lean’s ‘This Happy Breed’
“It is, quite simply, one of the most engaging and most charming movies ever made.”
Adrenaline and Virtuosic Filmmaking: Hal Ashby’s ‘8 Million Ways to Die’
“It’s not the edge of the knife — it’s the business end of the blade.”
The Sadness of Desert Trolls: On Robert Altman’s ‘3 Women’
“Altman balances searing interpersonal conflicts with a visual rhythm that’s downright whimsical.”
My Summer of Dunst: Volume 5
“Dunst remains in control of her persona, but she’s also at the mercy of Hollywood scheming.”
Netflix from 5 to 6: Reed Morano’s ‘Meadowland’
“With ‘Meadowland,’ Reed Morano doesn’t shy away from pain, and neither should Netflix viewers.”