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.”
Coming of Age on a Volcano: The Quiet Feminist Power of Jayro Bustamante’s ‘Ixcanul’
“With ‘Ixcanul,’ Bustamante presents an honest and complex mother-daughter companionship that is sorely lacking in our current film and television landscape.”
Las Palmas Film Festival Reviews: ‘Still Life’ and ‘Knife in the Clear Water’
“These allegorical films remind of the original connections that we have lost.”
‘Mulholland Dr.’ 4K Restoration: Another Look Behind Winkie’s Diner
“Just as with life, ‘Mulholland Dr.’ is unexplainable.”
It Was Never Enough: FEUD ‘Abandoned‘ (Recap)
“‘Feud’ may not be the most honest depiction of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis as human beings, but it provides an authentic depiction of the way it feels to be a woman trapped in a system that isn’t made for them or by them.”
Album Review: CFM ‘Dichotomy Desaturated’
“Based on the music from ‘Dichotomy Desaturated,’ I’d say he’s destined for greatness.”
The Original Sin in ‘Ex Machina’: Ava Is the Origin
“‘Ex Machina’ is not a projection of A.I. fear, but more of a preliminary intervention on the organized process of fearing and hating women.”
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Kôji Fukada’s ‘Harmonium’
“It’s the demons within that Kôji Fukada astutely brings to life in ‘Harmonium.'”
DIFF 2017 Review: Wong Chun’s ‘Mad World’
“Its megaphone messaging is lost in the noise of its own desperation.”
The Sweet Smell of Rot: FEUD ‘Hagsploitation’ (Recap)
“At its best, ‘Feud’ seeks to prove, and admirably so, that trash — as John Waters and William Castle can attest — is hardly the worst thing one can be.”
DIFF 2017 Review: James Gray’s ‘The Lost City of Z’
‘It cannot be understated: ‘The Lost City of Z’ is a revelation.’
DIFF 2017 Review: Feng Xiaogang’s ‘I Am Not Madame Bovary’
“‘I Am Not Madame Bovary’ brilliantly executes its high-concept, formal experimentation perfectly. In doing so, it embodies a vision that harmonizes the theoretical with the actual.”
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Wang Bing’s ‘Ku Qian (Bitter Money)’
“Ultimately, ‘Bitter Money’ points out that accumulating money doesn’t necessarily bring wealth, and that slaving away isn’t necessarily a solution for the Chinese subjects — it’s their only option.”