We Failed This Film: Lana and Andy Wachowski’s ‘Speed Racer’
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
An Interview with Independent Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi
“I like failure because it’s spiritualizing. We think we know what will make us happy, but we’re usually wrong. Failure forces us to rethink our salvational strategies.”
Vague Visages Short Stories: Mr. Mucata’s Final Requests by Mike Thorn
Vague Visages Short Stories #12: Mr. Mucata’s Final Requests by Mike Thorn (Calgary, Alberta)
Real Blood, Fake News: Dan Gilroy’s ‘Nightcrawler’
“Like a modern-day Machiavelli, his amoral world-view doesn’t see the ethical shades of his actions, only the gains and losses they might occur.”
Faith and Survival: Celebrating Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’
“I contend that not only has Nolan grown as an auteur, but that he has perfectly captured a universal truth to which all may relate and celebrate.”
Devious Dialogues: Mike Thorn and Anya Stanley on the ‘Psycho’ Franchise
“I’ll even go so far as to say that the sequel is just as satisfying as the original, in my eyes.”
We Failed This Film: Andrew Dominik’s ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’
We Failed This Film is a series about various films that simply didn’t get the love that they deserved upon initial release.
Devious Dialogues: Mike Thorn and A.M. Stanley on ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Franchise
Mike and Anya submitted this draft on August 25, 2017 — one day before Tobe Hooper passed away at age 74.
Review: Azazel Jacobs’ ‘The Lovers’
“According to Jacobs, romantic love is a negative equation wherein passion plus time equals complacency.”
Devious Dialogues: Mike Thorn and Anya Stanley on ‘The Exorcist’ Franchise
Devious Dialogues: A Horror-Themed Column by Mike Thorn and A.M. Novak
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.”
Looking Back and Forward: Mike Thorn and Anya Stanley on the ‘Halloween’ Franchise
Mike Thorn and A.M. Novak discuss the ‘Halloween’ franchise.
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Fear and Desire’
“‘Fear and Desire’ is more than just a curio for the Kubrick completist. It is indeed a genuinely revealing work.”
Why Criticism: Mark Cousins’ 50 Week Film Course
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Why Criticism: Interview with Josh Spiegel, Co-Host of ‘Mousterpiece Cinema Podcast’
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
EIFF 2016 Review: Zach Clark’s ‘Little Sister’
“‘Little Sister’ has a uniformly strong cast, but Addison Timlin gives one of those star-making turns that, if the universe is at all just, will be but the first prominent stepping stone for an extraordinary career.”
Why Criticism: Andrew Sarris vs. Pauline Kael
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Review: Jason Bateman’s ‘The Family Fang’
“Bateman brings the full force of his directorial ability to the film, finding beauty in every camera placement and character movement.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Stephen Ringer’s ‘Weepah Way for Now’
“It’s a touching depiction of a bond between sisters, but it doesn’t really create such a bond with viewers.”
Why Criticism: Writing about Acting and Performance in 2016
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
