EP Review: Ultrviolence ‘Forty Knives’
“Throughout ‘Forty Knives,’ Jespersen’s voice betrays his emotions and listening to him sing often feels like sneaking peeks at his diary.”
The Joke Is on Us: Rick Alverson’s ‘The Comedy’
“Audiences aren’t meant to hate Swanson, but to understand him and people like him, along with ourselves.”
Review: ‘Like Jagged Teeth’ – Betty Rocksteady’s Supernatural Bad Dream Novella
“By constantly re-emphasizing Jacalyn’s inability to confront the undeniable horror of the unfolding scenario, Rocksteady achieves a powerfully oneiric tone throughout.”
Devious Dialogues: Anya Stanley and Mike Thorn on the ‘Alien’ Franchise
Devious Dialogues: A Horror-Themed Column by A.M. Novak and Mike Thorn
Book Review: Gender and Genre in Aaron J. French’s ‘Festival’
“On the levels of craft and form, this is undoubtedly the work of a skilled writer.”
Album Review: Jen Gloeckner ‘VINE’
“Even though Gloeckner recorded ‘VINE’ in her Dubuque, Iowa bedroom, there is nothing bare bones or lo-fi about it; her passion for her art is obvious and impressive.”
Vague Visages Short Stories: Speaking of Ghosts by Mike Thorn
Vague Visages Short Stories #6: Speaking of Ghosts by Mike Thorn (Calgary, Alberta)
Pain and Three Kinds of Death in Dustin LaValley’s ‘A Soundless Dawn’
“Above all, it’s about style. LaValley plays fast and loose with grammar and punctuation, paying mind to cadence and tone.”
Cyberflunk 2017: Rupert Sanders’ ‘Ghost in the Shell’
“One of the hallmarks of good cyberpunk is the exploration of humanity in a post-modern world where technology is the dominant force. This philosophical probe falls short in Rupert Sanders’ ‘Ghost in the Shell.'”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Jean Vigo’s ‘L’Atalante’
“‘L’Atalante’ is a movie defined by it moments, images and emotive strength, not its ostensible plot.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán’s ‘Sambá’
“‘Sambá’ succeeds most when it draws inspiration from its setting and hooks the audiences with hard questions about crime and responsibility.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Tim Golden and Ross McDonnell’s ‘ELIÁN’
“It’s a miracle that Golden and McDonnell were able to create such a coherent document out of what appears to be bureaucratic chaos.”
Devious Dialogues: Mike Thorn and Anya Stanley on ‘The Exorcist’ Franchise
Devious Dialogues: A Horror-Themed Column by Mike Thorn and A.M. Novak
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Guillaume Canet’s ‘Rock’n Roll’
“Canet’s performance seems to come from a place of real insecurity, and the resulting film plays out like an externalized catharsis.”
Why We Make Films: On Kirsten Johnson’s ‘Cameraperson’
“‘Cameraperson’ is about genuine human connections, about the elements that connect us all, regardless of culture, geography, race or language.”
The Work: FEUD ‘You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?’ (Recap)
“I think ‘Feud’ believes we should take another look, turn on another spotlight or two (or three, or four) and see people beyond the work… for all the things they are.”
Tribeca Film Festival Reviews: Men with Guns – ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’
“What ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’ have in common is the notion that men with guns aren’t as brave or bloodthirsty as they seem.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Drew Xanthopoulos’ ‘The Sensitives’
“‘The Sensitives’ is a gentle and affecting window into the isolated prison cell that becomes a sensitive person’s life.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker’s ‘Flames’
“At times, Zefrey and Josephine seem more in love with their own clever filmmaking than they are with each other.”
Delay in the Reflection: On Richard Kelly’s Definition of a Post 9/11 World in ‘Southland Tales’
“To catch the eye of ‘Southland Tales’ is to look back on our past and future simultaneously, on the limitations of our technology and the humanity that screeches through it.”