A Tragic Turn: Fargo ‘Did You Do This? No, You Did It!’ (Recap)
“Throughout Season Two, Fargo has maintained an impeccable balance between comedy and tragedy.”
Two Blistering Performances Help ‘James White’ Achieve Greatness
“In a way, James White is like a dark riff on the man-child formula, but it also works as a devastating exploration of death and decay.”
The Black Lodge: The Leftovers ‘International Assassin’ (Recap)
“The otherworldly has always existed on the peripheries in The Leftovers, but in “International Assassin,” the physical world and the surreal world truly collide.”
Review: Francis Lawrence’s ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’
“A triumphant end for a series often mocked by critics for its narrative simplicity and “Young Adult” classification, Mockingjay – Part 2 is the finale that fans deserve. “
His Blazing Automatics: Jeff Nichols’ ‘Midnight Special’ and the Middle-Class Studio Film
“If Midnight Special does well in March, the film will undoubtedly encourage an environment in which middle-class studio releases aren’t such a rarity, because the film world needs more working class heroes like Jeff Nichols.”
#Noirvember: Howard Hawks’ ‘The Big Sleep’ (1946) Neuters Marlowe’s Hatred
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: Rick Alverson’s ‘Entertainment’
“Not merely a story about the loneliness of a career on the road, Entertainment is the struggle of a man singularly steadfast in his pursuit of his chosen art.”
RIDM 2015: ‘Red Hollywood’ (1996) – Another Masterwork From Thom Andersen
“Currently being honoured with a retrospective at the RIDM, Andersen’s cool and measured voice emerges as a through-line in his career.”
RIDM 2015: ‘My Love, Don’t Cross That River’ (Jin Mo-young, 2015)
“My Love, Don’t Cross That River, a documentary about a Korean couple who have been together for 75 years, achieves cinema’s full potential as a medium of poetry.”
Tension Mounts: Fargo ‘Rhinoceros’ (Recap)
“One of the most impressive aspects of Fargo this season has been the show’s ability to digress without ever losing focus.”