Gone But Not Forgotten: Remembering Rudolph Valentino 89 Years After His Death
Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926)
We Failed This Film: Walter Hill’s ‘Streets of Fire’
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Of Love and Other Demons (From Locarno 2015): Peckinpah and Sex Part 3 – ‘Straw Dogs’
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Review: Sarah Violet-Bliss and Charles Rogers’ ‘Fort Tilden’
“A refreshing and dryly-hilarious glimpse into life at a certain time in a certain place, Fort Tilden brilliantly captures the “struggles” of two women who are uncertain of their roles in life.”
Locarno 2015: ‘88:88’ (Isiah Medina, 2015)
“The style of 88:88 has been compared to Jean-Luc Godard, specifically his recent projects like Film Socialisme (2010) and Adieu au langage (2014). What sets this film apart from Godard is an intimacy approaching a breach of privacy.”
Locarno 2015: ‘La vallée’ (Barbet Schroeder, 1972)
“La vallée is not an entirely successful film, largely because of its limp energy and problematic ideological frameworks. It is, however, intensely bizarre and a fascinating portrait of a particular time and place.”
Personalizing Murder: Hannibal ‘…And the Beast from the Sea’ (Recap)
“Instead of merely asking viewers to care about a victim with whom we have no ties, Fuller tugs on our heartstrings by having his antagonist target the family of the protagonist we’ve gotten to know for nearly three full seasons.”
Review: F. Gary Gray’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’
“As the music industry continues to evolve and both Dr. Dre and Ice Cube remain icons of the entertainment industry, Straight Outta Compton serves as a reminder of underground mentality and how a simple idea can change one’s life forever.”
Locarno 2015: ‘Right Now, Wrong Then’ (Hong Sang-Soo, 2015)
“Even seasoned film writers struggle to put into words the enduring appeal of Hong Sang-Soo.”
We Failed This Film: Christopher McQuarrie’s ‘The Way of the Gun’
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Of Love and Other Demons: Sam Peckinpah and Sex – ‘The Getaway’
“Of all Sam Peckinpah’s films, the violence in ‘The Getaway’ often strikes me as the most senseless.”
Locarno 2015: ‘Chevalier’ (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2015)
“Masculinity has been the love-theme of this year’s edition of Locarno, and Chevalier further indulges in the dank impulses and fragility of the male ego.”
Review: Carol Morley’s ‘The Falling’
“Morley pushes the film’s “mystery” beyond any audience guessing games to a level of bewilderment above any useful analysis, leaving viewers in a state of excited shock.”
‘Only Yesterday’ Is Studio Ghibli’s Secret Masterpiece
An Essay by Josh Slater-Williams
Locarno 2015: ‘Cosmos’ (Andrzej Zulawski, 2015)
“Cosmos feels more like a parody of Zulawski’s work than a larger part of it.”
Film Beat: ‘In Dreams’ from David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)
A Column by Phuong Le
Of Love and Other Demons: Sam Peckinpah and Sex – ‘The Ballad of Cable Hogue’
“Cable Hogue ogles and desires Hildy because she appeals to him sexually: there are no shades of grey here, no self-reflection. In the world of Peckinpah, sex is often just sex.”
His Blazing Automatics: How One Scene in ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ Defines the Strengths of Christopher McQuarrie
A Column by Dylan Moses Griffin
We Failed This Film: Joe Carnahan’s ‘The Grey’
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ is a Modest Trailblazer
“Heller draws a refreshing beauty from her “this is what it is” approach in The Diary of a Teenage Girl, getting tenderness out of content too often used simply to titillate, shock or be used for didactic tirades.”