You Gotta Act: The Extreme Sincerity of Meredith Hagner
“Here’s to hoping that Meredith Hagner will continue to make us laugh while taking her ludicrous characters seriously for many more years, just like Marilyn Monroe did before her.”
In the Presence of a Clown: On the Films of Rick Alverson
“Alverson takes familiar images, milieus and scenarios as a starting point, only to render them alien, jettisoning the usual tenets of narrative cinema in favour of a style that’s far more challenging and hard to define.”
Review: Debra Granik’s ‘Leave No Trace’
“‘Leave No Trace’ finds its tension in the growing gap between father and daughter as Tom’s worldview widens while Will’s closes in.”
You Want It Darker: A MoMI Series Depicts Vladimir Putin’s Russia as Violent and Corrupt
“MoMI’s series is an unflattering depiction of Mother Russia that isn’t new, but these films in particular — and this series in general — provide narratives that illustrate the specifics of Putin’s disorderly government…”
‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ Is Genndy Tartakovsky’s Mania Gone Unproductively Mad
“For all the music that ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ offers, it amounts to a one-note production.”
VV Shudder Selects: Marianna Aloisio-Seale on Eiichi Yamamoto’s ‘Belladonna of Sadness’
“I don’t believe Mushi Pro and Yamamoto’s intentions were to empower women and stand beside the women’s liberators both in Japan and in the West, but to push the envelope for what animation means as a medium.”
NoBudge Breakdown: June 25 – July 8, 2018
NoBudge Breakdown is a weekly round-up of featured films at NoBudge. For this installment, Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough examined two weeks of short films (before NB’s summer break) and picked a few that stood out the most.
Vague Visages Is Filmstruck: Evan Amaral on Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin’s ‘Chronicle of a Summer’
“If cinema and the internet age have taught us anything, it’s that an explicit truth does not exist. We all perform for a number of lenses, whether they be a film camera or a Twitter account.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Francesco Rosi’s ‘Salvatore Giuliano’
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ciara Pitts on John Sayles’ ‘Lianna’
“Sayles’ wonderful gem might not receive the attention it deserves — even in the realm of LGBTQ cinema — but it contains a message that undoubtedly resonates today: no one needs to apologize for who they love.”
Netflix’s ‘The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter’ Plays It Safe for Maximum Viewership
“‘The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter’ lacks ‘true grit.’ It’s designed to feel relatable, yet Brolin’s impassioned performance can only do so much to override the stock dialogue and the narrative’s lack of originality.”
We Belong Dead: Immortality and Mourning in Boris Karloff’s Monster Movies
“Imhotep, like the Monster, has come from the dead, and this informs the ways in which he relates to the living. More importantly, it impacts the ways in which he relates to death and mortality.”
You Gotta Act: John Cusack’s Passionate and Pragmatic Approach to His Craft
“Looking at Cusack’s entire body of work helps one realise that, with age and experience, he has built an increasingly complex and multifaceted persona, playing off his image in order to counter expectations and, probably, to remain excited by his job.”
Photo Essay by Andy Witchger: Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer Tour at Minneapolis’ State Theatre
“Monáe paused throughout the night, using her platform to voice increasingly confident calls to political action. ‘We fight for women’s rights. We fight for minority rights. We fight for poor folks’ rights. We fight for immigrants’ rights. Most of all, we fight for love.’”
More Than Just Design: ‘Incredibles 2’ and Yesterday’s Tomorrow
“Clean and sleek Jet Age Futurism bleeds into every nook and cranny of ‘Incredibles 2’ — so much so that Bird seems to be saying ‘this is what we should have been doing all along.’”
Reminiscent of Hollywood’s Golden Age: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’
“‘The Dark Knight’ offers far more than a well-crafted comic book tale. Nolan provides a thoughtful film about love, sacrifice and the greater good; the underlying themes stand the test of time and merit celebration upon the classic’s 10th anniversary.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stefen Styrsky on Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Boiling Point’
“Kitano possesses an eye for color and mise-en-scène. Passages often become works of visual art in themselves.”
An Interview with ‘You Were Never Really Here’ Cinematographer Tom Townend
Sam Ankenbauer Interviews Cinematographer Tom Townend
A Terrain of Violence: Clio Barnard’s ‘Dark River’
“‘Dark River’ excels in the areas where Barnard has already proven herself adept: she draws stellar performances from her cast across the board, and creates a vibrant naturalism without sacrificing tone or style.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ciara Pitts on Donna Deitch’s ‘Desert Hearts’
“Deitch’s trailblazing film demonstrates that representation will always be essential.”