“While ‘The Black Cat’ does not share many explicit connections with Poe’s 1843 story, both texts use archetypal symbolism to explore painfully intimate experiences (in Poe’s case, addiction and mental disarray, and in Ulmer’s case, psychological trauma).”
“Hammer’s short length may feel like a detriment to some and seem too sparse, with its brevity making for some awkward moments. That said, it’s a refreshing change from the sprawling crime sagas of late…”
“Hardy provides something alien, both amusing and disgusting, a unique cross between Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance in ‘The Shining’ and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Bug in ‘Men in Black.'”
“‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ explodes like a Molotov cocktail, one that is fueled by punk spirit and more androgynous costuming than a New York Dolls album.”
“In the end, there can be no simple feelings of joy or satisfaction in seeing Batman defeat the Penguin — in seeing the good guy defeat the bad guy — because who’s the winner here, really?”
“In ‘Night Falls on Manhattan,’ Lumet arrives at acceptance — the system is what it is. He is resigned to his inability to chronicle any meaningful change through his work.”
“In the cinema of Michael Mann, romance comes fast or not at all, often smothered by the anonymous network of mankind itself or maybe just your job.”
“In Fassbinder’s conception of West Germany following its chaotic autumn, terror takes on the tenor of performance art; like addicts lusting after a fix, the groupuscule seeks ennobling sensation; they must be satiated by “Something symbolic…”
“‘Miss & Mrs. Cops’ is a genuinely light-hearted movie which never strays into the emotional register of real life or real pain.”
“‘Prince of the City’ is a taxing, draining experience, but one that is ultimately rooted in very real despair; the system, it argues, has failed. If these characters are the products of the American criminal justice system, then it ought to be blown up.”
