Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’
“Abandoning messages of environmentalism and nonviolence, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ abandons the narrative moralities that typify the director’s style.”
Why Criticism: The Inexpressible ‘House of Psychotic Women’ by Kier-La Janisse
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
The Aural Horrors of Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’
“Can hearing something be scarier than seeing something?”
Two Drink Minimum: Mandie Fletcher’s ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’
“It’s like hanging out with your spoiled great aunt at Thanksgiving for an hour until she gets plastered and ruins everything.”
Classes, Clashes and the City of Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Le amiche’
“With ‘Le amiche,’ Antonioni further bridges the gap between comparatively conservative melodrama and the groundbreaking narrative and visual abstraction he would soon unleash.”
We Failed This Film: Joe Carnahan’s ‘The A-Team’ (2010)
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Tokyo Tribe’ (Sion Sono, 2014)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
‘Adult Life Skills’ Boasts a Commanding Performance from Jodie Whittaker
“Two personified thumbs up.”
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Spirited Away’
“A careful reframing of the typical coming-of-age narrative, ‘Spirited Away’ displays a fondness those infinitely awkward years, while showing us all how important they were in making us who we are today.”
Why Criticism: James Agee – From Critic to Filmmaker
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Two Drink Minimum: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s ‘Swiss Army Man’
“Sing along with a corpse and come out the other side appreciating the bus ride home.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘The Secret Life of Pets’, Looney Tunes and Animated Logic
“A series of goofy images isn’t a comedy.”
Talk Dirty to Me: A History of Eroticism in Four Short Films
“In full metamorphosis and reinvigorated by a new voice and direction, there could be no better program to sell that cinema in Montreal is sexy again.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Why Don’t You Play in Hell?’ (Sion Sono, 2013)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Princess Mononoke’
“‘Princess Mononoke’ explores the gaping chasm between nature’s gentle acceptance of circumstance and humanity’s steadfast refusal to quietly accept death.”
EIFF 2016: Agnieszka Smoczynska’s ‘The Lure’
“It may sound like an odd compliment to praise a film for coming across like an ambien trip.”
Icon Is My Last Name: Andreas Horvath’s ‘Helmut Berger, Actor’
“We don’t who Helmut Berger is. Neither does he. Once a star, he will always be a star.”
Two Drink Minimum: Jake Szymanski’s ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’
“It’s not a dumb movie pretending to be smart, it’s a dumb movie worried about (yet still embracing) its own base stupidity.”
Why Criticism: James Agee’s Vision of the American Cinema
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Two Drink Minimum: ‘What’s Manzai?!!’
“It looks like a ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ episode was produced about manzai after they lost Bill, their writers and about ninety percent of their budget.”