What Makes a Man: Wounded Masculinity in William Lustig’s ‘Maniac’ Cycle
“In its own histrionic way, the ‘Maniac’ cycle presages a wave of reaction that would draw its power from the patriarchal fear of dispossession.”
This Is This: The Manifold Masculinity of Michael Cimino’s ‘The Deer Hunter’
“‘The Deer Hunter’ encapsulates a commanding representation of a precise period in American history, a precise location and precise types of men — somewhat clichéd, yes, but remarkably representative.”
Choose Your Own Bleak Adventure in ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’
“To use a gaming term, it’s got replay value, but it might leave those looking for a cohesive, more-traditional narrative choosing a different path.”
‘Vox Lux,’ 21st Century Trauma and Healing Through Pop Culture
“In ‘Vox Lux,’ pop music is an emblem of pop culture and the distractions we use to soften the growing trauma of the nation. It also plays into the main question that Corbet raises: just how long can we cling onto pop culture before society gets so bad that nothing will help?”
‘Collateral Beauty’: The Sinister Holiday Fable We Deserve
“This truly does feel like a religious fable farmed out via an automated word generator, one funded by corporate studio execs and programmed by Madison Avenue hacks and Instagram influencers.”
David Huckfelt of The Pines on ‘Stranger Angels,’ Isle Royale and Thin Places
Andy Witchger Interviews Minnesota Musician David Huckfelt
‘Zama’: Lucrecia Martel Gets Delirious
“Liminality is the coin of Martel’s realm in ‘Zama,’ and she manages to make the excruciating uncertainty of the long pause an engrossing experience for the audience…”
ArteKino Festival 2018 Review: Gábor Reisz’s ‘For Some Inexplicable Reason’
“‘For Some Inexplicable Reason’ strains for authenticity but only registers as a compendium of conventions familiar to the tired subgenre of the post-collegiate dramedy.”
Monsters and Hockey Masks: Primal Evil in Slasher Films
“In their own ways, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger all go beyond the real world, and beyond mortality.”
Exaggerated Confrontations of Human Behavior: How Yorgos Lanthimos Is a Master of Horror Realism
“Lanthimos is a master at challenging the notions of what a horror film can and should be, simply because he elicits the genre’s most key component, fear, out of his viewers.”
A Cinematic Colossus: Interview with ‘The Flower’ Director Mariano Llinás
Pablo Staricco Cadenazzi Interviews Argentinian Director Mariano Llinás About ‘The Flower’
A Whiplash of Multidimensional Creativity and Inspiration: ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’
“With all its supporting superheroes and hints of story threads, ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ is bankable for sequels and spin-offs. As long as there’s creative juice for this world, any follow-up would feel inspired.”
‘The Mule’ – Not Enough to Be Clint Eastwood’s Last Stand
“‘The Mule’ will not be remembered as one of the Eastwood classics. In all likelihood, it will be boxed in with two superior Eastwood films as part of a collector’s pack.”
Review: Jennifer Fox’s ‘The Tale’
“With ‘The Tale,’ Jennifer Fox addresses a painful subject in a straightforward and clear-eyed manner.”
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms: On Transcendental Style and Paul Schrader’s ‘First Reformed’
“The power of ‘First Reformed’ is rooted in Schrader’s ability to take a number of clear forbearers — Bresson, Dreyer, Pialat — and twist them into a style that feels wholly unique and rooted in a personal set of values and obsessions.”
Sweet, Satisfying and Sex-Positive: ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ at 10
“‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is a lot like a modern ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ for broke 30-somethings rather than wealthy, super-hot business types.”
‘Scrooged’ Is Still the Most Modern ‘Christmas Carol’
“‘Scrooged’ carries on Dickens’ themes and message in a way that speaks the most directly and urgently to its audience, teaching that “the miracle” of giving can happen to all of us, at any time. Provided, of course, we can turn off the TV for just long enough.”
Love Me or Kill Me: Sex, Death and Desire in Yann Gonzalez’s ‘Knife + Heart’
“Sex and death may be inseparable, but, to the commune of queers and pornographers of ‘Knife + Heart,’ so are sex and life.”
ArteKino Festival 2018 Review: Babis Makridis’ ‘Pity’
“What saves ‘Pity,’ and the ‘Greek Weird Wave’ as a whole, from tipping into nihilism is the humanism at its core; it is the pessimism of thwarted hopes rather than the negative drive of cynicism.”
Ballad of Lee Israel: Marielle Heller’s Excellent ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’
“‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ is simultaneously suspenseful and laidback.”