Why ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts
“In a way, the Coens complete the arc of the film, tying it together cohesively, by suggesting that the arc is random, sometimes cruel, and sometimes meaningless.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander’
“‘Fanny and Alexander’ is an easily entertaining primer to the cinema of Ingmar Bergman…”
Danse Macabre: Luca Guadagnino Reimagines ‘Suspiria’
“Patient blood aficianados who stick with the filmmaker to the final reel will most certainly receive their crimson reward.”
Men and Monsters in ‘The Clovehitch Killer’
“‘The Clovehitch Killer’ offers much for the audience to ponder: what it means to be a man and a human, what it means to keep secrets and what it means to face monsters and survive.”
‘Les diaboliques’ and the Beginnings of the Erotic Thriller
“One of the most compelling things about ‘Les Diaboliques’ and its cinematic offspring is that viewers are always left with the sense that there are secrets untold, questions unanswered.”
Growing Pains: Asian Cinema and the Coming-of-Age Film
“The success of ‘The Crossing’ and ‘The Third Wife’ should speak to the unique ability of female filmmakers and female characters in filling in the narrative gaps in Vietnamese and Chinese cinema, in which male directors wield dominant creative control.”
Cinemania Film Festival Review: Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’
“As in ‘Ida,’ Pawlikowski offers little exposition, which leaves the audience to gather any and all clues.”
Jonah Hill Looks Back at the ‘Mid90s’
“‘Mid90s’ has drawn some comparisons to Harmony Korine (who makes a cameo in Hill’s film) and Larry Clark’s ‘Kids,’ but Hill’s worldview is far less toxic and dangerous than the grimmest territory explored in the 1995 movie.”
Seeing Double: Richard Quine’s ‘Pushover’
“As a largely disregarded noir B-side, ‘Pushover’ deliberately recalls its more famous predecessor, playing upon audience expectations of MacMurray’s screen persona to create an experience of déjà vu.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Steve James’ ‘Hoop Dreams’
“As much as ‘Hoop Dreams’ concerns the sports-centric plight of William and Arthur, it is perhaps even more significantly an illustrative case study of what perpetually imperils men (and women) of a certain social, economic and racial constitution.”
London Film Festival 2018 Review: Carlos Vermut’s ‘Quién te cantará’
“‘Quién te cantará’ is a cold, mournful study of mothers and daughters living despite each other, filtered through a mystery with a popstar shaped hole at its centre.”
London Film Festival 2018 Review: Ben Wheatley’s ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead’
“This film will undoubtedly become a key text for critical essays and university studies on post-referendum British cinema…”
Review: Bradley Cooper’s ‘A Star Is Born’
“Gaga’s mere presence in ‘A Star Is Born’ allows Cooper a wide berth to go big with scenes and moments that play with and embrace camp.”
Keep On Keepin’ On: Review — David Lowery’s ‘The Old Man & the Gun’
“Few actors are truly cross-generational in the manner media outlets make them out to be. Robert Redford, however, has earned this distinction.”
‘First Man’: Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling Take a Moonwalk
“‘First Man’ expresses no interest in probing the complexities of space race mythologizing…”
NYFF 2018 Review: Claire Denis’ ‘High Life’
“Denis’ approach resembles that of Pattinson’s performance: pointedly pared down to the bare minimum without fully untethering from recognizable humanity.”
How to Lose Control: Understanding Children and Insecurity with ‘The New Man’
Ella Kemp Interviews ‘The New Man’ Filmmakers/Subjects Devorah Baum and Josh Appignanesi
The Moon and the Kitchen: An Interview with ‘First Man’ Editor Tom Cross
Marshall Shaffer Interviews Film Editor Tom Cross
Looking Back at Steven Soderbergh’s ‘sex, lies, and videotape’
“Despite its salacious subject matter — sexuality, infidelity and voyeurism — the movie contains shockingly few sex scenes, but still remains erotically charged nearly 30 years later.”
NYFF 2018 Review: Paul Dano’s ‘Wildlife’
“The overcorrection for sentimentality does give ‘Wildlife’ a bit of a sterile feel, but the deliberate dissatisfaction that Dano allows to permeate through his debut feature provides a fitting complement to the private misery of the film’s characters.”