Review: Davis Guggenheim’s ‘He Named Me Malala’
“Despite Guggenheim’s asymmetrical approach, Malala’s unquestionable bravery and youthful idealism shine through.”
Justin Kurzelโs โMacbethโ Is a Solid Enough Take on ‘The Scottish Play’
“Like its eponymous character, Justin Kurzelโs adaptation of Macbeth is a film pulled in myriad directions for a sense of purpose.”
Seminci 2015: No Scheherazade Story in Palestinian ‘3000 Nights’
Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid: Andreea Pฤtru on the recipient of the 2015 Meeting Point Audience Award.
Review: Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Room’
“Lenny Abrahamson’s latest film, Room, has an incredibly unique script and one of the best performances of the year. So why is the film just good, and not great?”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Gilda’ (Charles Vidor, 1946)
“‘Gilda’ย is one of the great examples of onscreen masochism.”
Seminci 2015: In the Female-Directed Debuts ‘Princess’ and ‘Flocking,’ Tainted Lolitas Struggle for Innocence
Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid: Andreea Pฤtru on Beata Gรฅrdeler’s ‘Flocking” and Tali Shalom-Ezer’s ‘Princess’
Review: Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘The Lobster’
“A sharp, claustrophobic study of human relationships, The Lobster puts humanity’s obsession with coupling on full display before it is bloodily dissected and rendered horrifyingly unrecognizable.”
SPECTRE: Where Can James Bond Go From Here?
“Regardless of what comes next for our beloved spy, let us never again speak of (or be subjected to) that opening montage with the trashy, tentacle-porn horror show.”
We Failed This Film: M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable’
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
‘Spectre’ Is the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ of the Bond Series
“If Skyfall was arguably about the James Bond character having an identity crisis, Spectre feels like the series having one.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘The Devils’ (Ken Russell, 1971)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: S. Craig Zahler’s ‘Bone Tomahawk’
“Meeting the specifications of both Western and Horror halfway, Bone Tomahawk gracefully undermines each in pursuit of lending credence to the other.”
Review: Guy Maddin’s ‘The Forbidden Room’
“Phantasmagoric and heady, The Forbidden Room is a film torn from the past, as Guy Maddin journeys even further into his own imagination, drawing out an original and enthralling journey through a kaleidoscope of different locales, time periods and genres.”
London Film Festival 2015 Review: Johnnie To’s ‘Office’
“Office makes you wonder if more thriller-leaning filmmakers should make a foray into the musical genre. Michael Mannโs Gypsy, anyone?”
His Blazing Automatics: The Postmodern Horror of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s ‘The Town That Dreaded Sundown’
His Blazing Automatics is a Vague Visages column by Dylan Moses Griffin.
Review: Cary Joji Fukunaga’s ‘Beasts of No Nation’
“As an empathetic machine, Beasts of No Nation tries too hard to convey the unimaginable, leaving in its place a sense of cold insouciance towards a system that is shown to be irreparably broken.”
London Film Festival 2015 Review: Karyn Kusama’s ‘The Invitation’
“Thanks to the skilled hand of director Kusama (Girlfight, Jenniferโs Body), The Invitation is a deeply uncomfortable but also eerily funny skewering of the hostility that can lurk under the veil of hospitality.”
Vaguebande: Life Is Beautiful – ‘Crimson Peak’ and the Image That Shook Me
A Column by Q.V. Hough (Vaguebande #2)
FNC 2015 Review: ‘Transfixed’ (Alon Kol, 2015)
“The film reveals the importance of communication in love, but perhaps even more, the importance of empathy and understanding.”
We Failed This Film: Jorma Taccone’s ‘MacGruber’
A Column by Dylan Moses Griffin