Of Love and Other Demons: Nigel Wingrove’s ‘Visions of Ecstasy’ and Perverted Desire
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: Luca Guadagnino’s ‘A Bigger Splash’
“A vivid and lavish feast for the eyes, A Bigger Splash takes an assemblage of indescribably talented actors and puts them in a pressure cooker of sex and vice.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Joachim Trier’s ‘Louder Than Bombs’
“Louder Than Bombs may be the first foray into (fully) English-language features for Norwegian director Joachim Trier and his regular screenwriting partner Eskil Vogt, but it absolutely feels like a logical progression of their impressive prior collaboration, the sombre Oslo, August 31st.”
Ryan Coogler and Black Intimacy
“Breaking the mold and raising his cinematic voice by embedding black intimacy in his movies, Coogler, in Creed and Fruitvale Station, uses mothers, girlfriends, children, squads of friends and Michael B. Jordan to create community.”
DMG’s Jeff Nichols RetroSpecial: ‘Shotgun Stories’ (2007)
A Jeff Nichols Retrospective by Dylan Moses Griffin
Glasgow Film Festival Review: John Carney’s ‘Sing Street’
“As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
The Feminine Grotesque #2: Mirror, Mirror – On Bette Davis in ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’
A Series by Angelica Jade Bastién
The Feminine Grotesque #1: A Unified Theory on Female Madness in Cinema and American Culture
A Series by Angelica Jade Bastién
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Love & Basketball’ (Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2000)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: John Hillcoat’s ‘Triple 9’
“Triple 9 probably won’t go down as one of the great heist films on par with Die Hard or The Italian Job, but it might.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Stephen Ringer’s ‘Weepah Way for Now’
“It’s a touching depiction of a bond between sisters, but it doesn’t really create such a bond with viewers.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Sara Jordenö’s ‘Kiki’
“Kiki is not the documentary that will prompt mass change or acceptance of fringe LGBTQ culture, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Review: Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’
“The Witch does for the woods what Jaws did for the ocean. They’re ruined for you.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Robert Greene’s ‘Kate Plays Christine’
“Kate Plays Christine finds itself at the at intersection of reality and performance art, but no matter how fabricated the precursor, the emotional core remains intact and exceptionally powerful.”
His Blazing Automatics: Frank Grillo Is Our Most Undervalued Action Hero
“Did we really need another Purge film? Probably not, but did we need another film where Frank Grillo kicks ass? Yes. Absolutely yes.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: The Terrifying Future of War – Alex Gibney’s ‘Zero Days’
“Like a drunken boxer shoving people outside of a nightclub, Gibney’s loud mouth is supported by his ability to knock you out.”
Of Love and Other Demons: In Remembrance of Andrzej Żuławski
Justine A. Smith Remembers Andrzej Żuławski (November 22, 1940 – February 17, 2016)
Berlinale 2016: With ‘Chi-Raq’, Spike Lee Pushes the Power of Sexuality to New Heights
“Profoundly funny, shocking, sad and ultimately inspiring, Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq is the rude awakening that America needs to get its shit together.”
Berlinale 2016 Review: Rama Thiaw’s ‘The Revolution Won’t Be Televised’
“Thiaw’s control of frenetic, vibrant energy dictates every frame of The Revolution Won’t Be Televised.”
Berlinale 2016: ‘Alone in Berlin’ – A Lifeless Tale of White Heroism
“An overlong melodramatic exercise in aridity, Alone in Berlin fails as a testament to the efforts of the Quangels and fails to tell a cohesive, engaging story.”