Adrenaline and Virtuosic Filmmaking: Hal Ashby’s ‘8 Million Ways to Die’
“It’s not the edge of the knife — it’s the business end of the blade.”
The Sadness of Desert Trolls: On Robert Altman’s ‘3 Women’
“Altman balances searing interpersonal conflicts with a visual rhythm that’s downright whimsical.”
Devious Dialogues: Mike Thorn and A.M. Stanley on ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Franchise
Mike and Anya submitted this draft on August 25, 2017 — one day before Tobe Hooper passed away at age 74.
My Summer of Dunst: Volume 5
“Dunst remains in control of her persona, but she’s also at the mercy of Hollywood scheming.”
Netflix from 5 to 6: Reed Morano’s ‘Meadowland’
“With ‘Meadowland,’ Reed Morano doesn’t shy away from pain, and neither should Netflix viewers.”
Vague Visages Short Stories: Bleeding and Breathing Deeply by Q.V. Hough
Vague Visages Short Stories #7: Bleeding and Breathing Deeply by Q.V. Hough (Fargo, North Dakota)
Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? – On Philippe Garrel’s ‘Frontier of the Dawn’
“This is a love story expressed through gaping structural absences.”
Action Hero Vulnerability and Shocking Comedy in John Frankenheimer’s ‘Dead Bang’
“The vomit moment in ‘Dead Bang’ is unfailingly human.”
The Absurdity of Our World: Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’
“With great color, style and technique, Ford haunts the audience with the disappointments of our absurd world.”
‘Fatal Attraction’ at 30
“Lyne does not believe in the ‘New Man.'”
Review: Matt Spicer’s ‘Ingrid Goes West’
“Unexplored potential aside, there is a deeper issue which casts ‘Ingrid Goes West,’ for me at least, in a pale rather than neon light.”
Review: Eliza Hittman’s ‘Beach Rats’
“Hittman has created a powerful, sensual film about identity, loss and the complicated space that often lies between desire and expectation.”
Obsession and Compulsion: A Deep Look at ‘Single White Female’
“In ‘Single White Female,’ being fixated with a person’s looks, behavior and personality represents a fetishization of that person as a whole.”
‘Rampart’: A Season in the Abyss
“‘Rampart’ can never step out of the shadows.”
Album Review: Frankie Rose ‘Cage Tropical’
“The transformation of 1980s synth pop from a frequently mocked fad into a respectable modern genre has been glorious to behold.”
The Power of Suggestion in Ben Young’s ‘Hounds Of Love’
“‘Hounds of Love’ makes an intriguing case for suggestion in place of an all-out, sensationalized show.”
Sunday Spaghetti: Tonino Valerii’s ‘Day of Anger (I giorni dell’ira)’
“‘Day of Anger’ is a tightly-structured film about societal influencers and people on the fringe that need somebody in their corner.”
Review: Fabrice Du Welz’s ‘Message from the King’ (Netflix Original)
“For the most part, ‘Message from the King’ doesn’t mess around.”
My Summer of Kirsten Dunst: Volume 4
“Marie Antoinette has become queen and left her partying days behind.”
The Uninhabitable Tomorrow: Bruce Robinson’s ‘Withnail & I’
“‘Withnail & I’ is chock-full with digs and insinuations of homoeroticism, some of them crude, others more subtle and rife with dramatic potential and longing.”