Review: Hong-jin Na’s ‘The Wailing’
“It’s a film that doesn’t so much scare as it harrows, boring deep into the psyche.”
Vague Visages on Agnès Varda’s 88th: ‘Vagabond’
“People often fear or misrepresent what they don’t understand.”
Demon in Utero Pregnancy: ‘Shelley’ Opens Transilvania Film Festival
“With clear references to the cult horror ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, ‘Shelley’ explores the theme of pregnancy as an invasion.”
The Uneasy Allegiances of Nicholas Ray’s ‘In a Lonely Place’
“‘In a Lonely Place’ finds Nicholas Ray still the relative newcomer to the Hollywood studio scene, yet he is already displaying subversive evidence of instilling in his work representative preoccupations.”
We Failed This Film: Jody Hill’s ‘Observe and Report’ (2009)
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘My Neighbor Totoro’
“An astonishing achievement of handcrafted animation, Miyazaki’s third Ghibli film solidified the studio’s presence, and has become an enduring symbol of its excellence.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘In the Cut’ (Jane Campion, 2003)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Vague Visages on Agnès Varda’s 88th: ‘Jane B. par Agnès V.’
“An uncompromising visionary, Agnès Varda seems unable to acknowledge precedent or standard practice when becoming involved with creative works.”
Review: Laura Bispuri’s ‘Sworn Virgin’
“One problem with ‘Sworn Virgin’, particularly in its later stages, is a distinct lack of stakes.”
Vague Visages on Agnès Varda’s 88th: ‘The Gleaners & I’
“Varda’s sense of play, fun, silliness and humor comes from a collected bricolage of incident, travel and people.”
Why Criticism: Setting Up a Podcast with Francisco Peres
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Vague Visages on Agnès Varda’s 88th: ‘Le Bonheur’
“Happiness for someone, then, is only achievable at the expense of someone else’s full experience?”
Vague Visages on Agnès Varda’s 88th: ‘La Pointe Courte’
“How unusual to see a woman’s perspective on love presented so plainly as Varda does in ‘La Pointe Courte.'”
More Than Shadows #1: Series Introduction
“There will be unrequited love and monstrous desires amongst these essays.”
His Blazing Automatics: The ‘District 13’ Films, ‘Brick Mansions’ and Cultural Identity in Action
A Column on Action Films by Dylan Moses Griffin
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Too Late Blues’ (John Cassavetes, 1961)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Violently Tender: The Secret Humanism of Vincent Gallo’s ‘Buffalo ’66’
“Though bleak and at times brutal, ‘Buffalo ’66’ manages to evoke a world of sensitivity that’s, dare I say, rather feminine.”
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Laputa: Castle in the Sky’
“It is a film for little humans (and big humans) that places hopefulness, imagination and kindness above all else.”
Why Criticism: When Podcasts Reign and 5 Essentials
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Review: Patricia Rozema’s ‘Into the Forest’
“For a feminist attempt to show two women leaning on each other, ‘Into the Forest’ barely sketches them out.”