“There is little doubt that ‘Gabriel Over the White House’ was a test balloon of sorts, priming the audience for a discussion on the merits of the strongman leader, asking them what they would be willing to sacrifice in order to ameliorate the national plight.”
“‘Go Home’ is quite a modest film in its wider intentions and cultural implications, and that often works to its advantage from a technical perspective.”
“‘Lords of Chaos’ is a nasty little treat: involving, fascinating and often shocking.”
Iana Murray on Her London Film Festival Conversation with ‘Burning’ Star Steven Yeun
“Sometimes, there’s a moment in your life when you’re experiencing something that perfectly intersects with a character on screen.”
“With surprising poignancy, ‘Asako I and II’ channels the humbling smallness of life’s journey, and the human tendency to resist this banal, often disappointing reality with self-delusion.”
“Its vibrating self-awareness, unwieldy traveling circus vibe and mind-bending movie-within-a-movie duality allow Welles to simultaneously mock and indulge in the critically celebrated, sexually-charged, Antonioni-style, European art film.”
“‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ is nicer to look at than a urinal signed ‘R. Mutt,’ but like Duchamp’s ‘Fountain,’ I won’t be rushing to see it again anytime soon.”
“There’s no solace in the music of Boy Harsher, only a feeling that we are all facing the same fears and uncertainties. Yet, sometimes, that is solace enough.”
“Lesage has once more proven himself to be an astute chronicler of personal growth in those turbulent and anxiety-ridden years where the mind and the body are as mysterious as they are vulnerable.”
“How many movies have been lost or nearly lost to circumstances before a public release can provide closure for the anxious and expectant filmmaker?”
“Just as Reed’s real-life contemporaries reflect on the revolutionary ideals of their era in ‘Reds,’ Beatty bears witness to his own, staring down a massive canvas of his contemporaries’ successes and failures, the romance of their innovations and the exclusionary nature of their excess.”
“A thorough, engaging thesis that bridges physical and digital gaps both affirming and sinister, ‘A Self-Induced Hallucination’ is a witty, gripping compilation of collaborative creativity and sterile self-interest.”
“The ‘Rocky’ films have given us great heroes. Their protagonists are sweet and kind, courageous and indominable. They have given us so much to cheer for. But they’ve also grown out of an idea of masculinity that is deeply, meaningfully flawed.”
“The future of horror isn’t female, it’s the present. And it’s about bloody time.”
“Another stunning work of perfectly placed ellipses and calculated restraint, Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’ is a film filled with images as iconic and austere as its blunt title.”
Vague Visages Short Stories #13: iamdifid: by D.M. Palmer (Sheffield, UK)
“Part of me expects something as grandiose as ‘Assassination Nation’ to happen in real life, and that’s what’s especially terrifying.”
“Where DC trades in grim realism and Marvel does the whole snarky, joke-a-minute thing, the Shyamalanverse is a flavor all its own, a world where superheroes exist, but they don’t wear capes and their lives are usually pretty awful.”
“Despite sharing a universe with ‘Unbreakable,’ M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ fits into a deeper cinematic legacy of psychosexual horror, one that speaks to our sense of the uncanny…”
