Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’
‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every feature song in Navot Papushado’s 2021 Netflix movie.
Netflix Review: ‘Godzilla Singular Point’ Season 1
“Previous incarnations of Godzilla worked best by implanting ideas that were tangible. However, in the world of ‘Godzilla Singular Point,’ the ideas prove to be non-existent, as do the inhabitants.”
The Metaphorical and Elusive Camera of ‘The Disciple’
“‘The Disciple’ can be highly rewarding if one notices and appreciates its technical brilliance. Criticizing the film for its slow pace and aloof camerawork is akin to labeling classical music as boring and tedious.”
Netflix Review: Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’
“‘Army of the Dead’ is an algorithmic cleansing exhale in the wake of a whirlwind period in Snyder’s career. As a zombie movie, it’s a shallow, scattershot effort with interesting mythology ideas that don’t really go anywhere…”
Netflix Review: Joe Wright’s ‘The Woman in the Window’
“While Wright’s stylized execution is impressive, ‘The Woman in the Window’ is a yarn that never fully grabs its audience by the jugular.”
Netflix Review: Alexandre Aja’s ‘Oxygen’
“Oxygen’s relevance strikes like lightning in a year when time is measured less by Earth’s tilt and more by first wave, second wave, red phase, yellow phase; not by time passing daily, but by how much danger remains in the room.”
Interview with ‘Pagglait’ Filmmaker Umesh Bist
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Pagglait’ Filmmaker Umesh Bist
Netflix Review: Ryuichi Hiroki’s ‘Ride or Die’
“Plenty of double-themed movies have been made over the years, but ‘Ride or Die’ seems like an ideal companion piece to ‘Persona.’ Both films are sexually provocative, and both require multiple viewings to better understand the perspectives of each female protagonist.”
Netflix Review: Hoon-Jung Park’s ‘Night in Paradise’
“‘Night in Paradise’ isn’t the ideal movie for locked-down streamers, but it’s one that challenges audiences to find silver linings in dark life experiences.”
Netflix Review: ‘This Is a Robbery: The World’s Greatest Art Heist’
“With ‘This Is a Robbery,’ Barnicle manages to pinpoint what probably happened at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on St. Patty’s Day 1990 while amplifying the long-term mystery.”
Netflix Review: ‘Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American’
“Bargatze delivers a strong one-hour set in ‘The Greatest Average American,’ even if he seems more interested in referencing his family and friends than owning the stage with original bits.”
Netflix Review: ‘The Serpent’ Suffers from an Identity Crisis
“‘The Serpent’ fashions itself as a serial killer epic, but feels more like an uninspired Jacques Audiard knockoff that shows little interest in deconstructing the psychology of its subject.”
Netflix Review: ‘Dota: Dragon’s Blood’ Season 1
“‘All these books, all this magic, yeah, they have potential. But what exactly is ‘DOTA: Dragon’s Blood’ trying to say?”
Black Gold: Cinema, Wealth and Blackness
Brian Brems on ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, ‘Da 5 Bloods’ and ‘Trespass’
Netflix Review: Barry Avrich’s ‘Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art’
“When viewed as a character study, ‘Made You Look’ is the rare art documentary that has a re-watchable quality.”
Netflix Review: ‘Brian Regan: On the Rocks’
“Whereas many Netflix acts are so clearly designed to address cultural topics A, B, and C — whether it’s politics, social media, or celebrity culture — Regan riffs away with evergreen observational humor that gives ‘On the Rocks’ a timeless quality…”
An Interview with ‘Kaali Khuhi’ Director Terrie Samundra
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Kaali Khuhi’ Director Terrie Samundra
David Fincher Pays Tribute to His Father and Old Hollywood in ‘Mank’
“‘Mank’ probably spends more time than necessary defining the protagonist’s own crisis of conscience within a corrupt and decaying dream factory.”
Review: David Fincher’s ‘Mank’
“‘Mank’ is just the latest installment in Netflix’s self-concious branding strategy.”
Review: Kornél Mundruczó’s ‘Pieces of a Woman’
“There’s a lot to admire about ‘Pieces of a Woman,’ but Mundruczó’s film loses its way as it continues to untether itself from the opening’s grounded realism.”