“The processing conversation is perhaps the most telling sequence of all, as Quell submits to The Master — the Master Projection — and acknowledges his own self-deception.”
An Essay by Marshall Shaffer
“Listening to ‘Rock & Roll (Save My Soul),’ the first track on Dirty Sidewalks’ debut album, will have a definite impact on fans of The Jesus and Mary Chain.”
“If indeed this is Day-Lewis’ swan song, ‘Phantom Thread’ is the crowning achievement of a monumental career.”
“Dogs are a huge asset to the horror genre, as menaces and as loyal comrades.”
An Essay by Ella Kemp
“‘Benny’s Video’ implicates us, the audience, for watching. Haneke chides the spectators, removed from the action by a screen, for their inability — or perhaps their unwillingness — to stop the violence.”
Vague Visages Writers on Their Favorite 2017 Releases
In the second part of a three-chapter conversation conducted over months via a large Google Doc, Manuela Lazic and Adam Nayman discuss acting and how film critics interpret performances.
“Bergman’s penchant for giving physical form to the conscious and subconscious mind is rarely more apparent than in his 1957 masterpiece ‘Wild Strawberries.’”
“It’s ultimately Scarpa’s bizarre scripting decisions that make the film just a fun crime thriller, and not a Ridley Scott classic.”
“As any great piece of cinema should evoke in the viewer, Alice Lowe’s electric performance in ‘Prevenge’ makes one laugh, cry and shriek in terror.”
“There has always been a conflict at play in Nicholson’s screen presence: between ‘Nicholson’ and ‘Jack.’ The desire to be taken seriously and the lure of the riotous Jack persona have always done battle across his decades of stardom.”
“Although the well worn label of ‘humanist’ may have lost its meaning by now, ‘Milla’ truly lives up to the mantle, as it is ultimately concerned with the fortitude and ability of a young woman to create a space of her own in the world.”
“For a film that prides itself on being ‘based on a true story,’ ‘Molly’s Game’ often relies on moments that are too coincidental, too easy. Yet, there’s nothing here to suggest that Sorkin won’t eventually figure things out behind the camera.”
“Writer/director Akin presents everything through a stilted lens which mistakes prosaic framing and editing for a matter of fact tone.”
In the first part of a three-chapter conversation conducted over months via a large Google Doc, film critics Manuela Lazic and Adam Nayman discuss what makes a writer’s voice, colleagues that keep inspiring them and how, a generation apart, they became interested in movies and writing.
“‘Z’ is thoughtful, provocative, impassioned entertainment, stylish and teeming with conviction.”
“‘The Breadwinner’ is a beautifully-constructed yet grueling story of female bravery that feels both timeless and timely.”
“For all its attempts at dissecting human cruelty, there’s no human core to this story, which makes its 135-minute runtime feel twice as long.”