Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’
“With ‘Tenet,’ Nolan evolves as a surrealist director, yet his writing style does not similarly advance.”
‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’: Charlie Kaufman Knows You Can’t Always Get What You Want
“Point of view and selfhood have assumed for Kaufman a place of great consequence from ‘Being John Malkovich’ to ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ to ‘Anomalisa,’ and ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ is a remarkable extension.”
Album Review: Hurts ‘Faith’
“‘Faith’ is too misguided and confused to be an actively cynical undertaking, but its desperate rush to the lowest common denominator in a bid for the broadest appeal is still nakedly apparent.”
EP Review: BUMPER ‘Pop Songs 2020’
“‘Pop Songs 2020’ is not a disposable work, but neither is it especially serious. It’s light, punchy and brief — a condensed showcase of its creators’ formidable pop songwriting craft.”
The Land of Yes: ‘Class Action Park’
“The appeal and popularity of the Action Park documentary and book, along with eager anticipation for the upcoming TV series, evidences a shared human proclivity to embellish one’s “street cred.”
The Cinematic Lineage of Quentin Dupieux’s ‘Deerskin’
“Deerskin’s methodology might be new, but the central tenets of its 77 minutes are part of the same cinematic heritage that created Jim McBride’s indie darling ‘David Holzman’s Diary’ (1967) and Krzysztof Kieslowski’s ‘Camera Buff’ (1979).”
Review: Arthur Jones’ ‘Feels Good Man’
“The manipulation of popular characters outside the control of original creators has existed for hundreds of years, but what makes ‘Feels Good Man’ especially significant is the entanglement with ‘fake news’ during the era of Trump…”
Fantasia 2020 Review: David Darg and Price James’ ‘You Cannot Kill David Arquette’
“‘You Cannot Kill David Arquette’ is an incredibly moving and life-affirming lesson in following your dreams at all costs.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Noah Hutton’s ‘Lapsis’
“‘Lapsis’ offers the intriguing and hopeful possibility that our technologically dependent future may not be so bad after all.”
Album Review: Angel Olsen ‘Whole New Mess’
“Olsen may have crept back into her shell, but, on ‘Whole New Mess,’ there’s finally enough space for her to invite listeners inside.”