Landscape of Awkwardness: On Maren Ade’s ‘Toni Erdmann’
“‘Toni Erdmann’ understands what’s at stake: not the private destiny of an individual, but her ongoing relationship to her era.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Yasujirô Ozu’s ‘I Was Born, But…’
“If Ozu has taught us anything, it’s that life doesn’t get any easier. But life does go on.”
We Have Another Reptile on the Loose: ‘The Lair of the White Worm’
“Rare is the horror comedy that evokes laughter while also giving one the creeps.”
Review: Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum’s ‘The New Man’
“The director’s own forthrightness is, at once, both refreshing and perplexing.”
Mike Birbiglia’s ‘Don’t Think Twice’: The Anti-‘La La Land’
“Where Los Angeles offers an idyllic vision of dreamers, New York can’t help but set the stage for an all too depressing look at those left behind.”
Sparkling Romances and Sweet Facades: Damien Chazelle’s ‘La La Land’
“Might I put it out into the ether that a ‘weak link’ doesn’t exist in ‘La La Land’.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Mike Leigh’s ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: A Column Devoted to the Streaming Platform FilmStruck
Losses Made in Heaven: Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Casino’
“In Scorsese’s inversion of the downfall, paradise isn’t the origin and its loss doesn’t mean moral decrepitude, only mediocrity.”
Toxic Masculinity and Empathetic Comedy: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’
“The cumulative effect of ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ is one of openness and warmth.”
The Exaggerated Joy of Jûzô Itami’s ‘Tampopo’
“If ‘Tampopo’ initially seems familiar, it’s only because Itami masks the exterior as a Western.”