New Targets: Assassins at the End of History
“The 90s variant of the hitman archetype became entangled in the disorientation of the time, prone to the same neurotic preoccupations as the cultural cadres warring around them…”
Sharing the Cinematic Bathwater: From Wim to Jim
“In retrospect, a film can seem so intentional, with every artistic choice so deliberate, that you can’t imagine it being any other way. But these movies that last for generations are often shaped by whims and circumstance.”
The Western Enters the 70s – Part 2: Kicking Down the Doors
“With the Acid Western, the genre had once again proven itself capable of assimilating new grievances and anxieties.”
The Transcendent Banality of ‘Joe Pera Talks with You’
“In its absence of cynicism and surface mundanity, ‘Joe Pera Talks with You’ presents a conceit that feels genuinely daring in the context of a comic universe which prides itself on provocative fare from the likes of Tim and Eric, Dave Willis and Eric Andre.”
The Birds and the Beats: How ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’ Achieved Ultimate Serenity
“Ghost Dog glides through the story with the swiftness of an avian being in a film that never fails to be cathartic.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: Kaouther Ben Hania’s ‘Beauty and the Dogs’
“The technical achievement here is considerable, though there is nothing that can match the surprise, and resultant thrill, of watching the opening scene play out.”
Éric Rohmer’s Battle of the Sexes
“Rohmer cares more about posing questions than providing the comfort of a conclusion.”
Review: Pema Tseden’s ‘Tharlo’
“Pema Tseden’s all-Tibetan film is a confrontation of old and new, of solitude and togetherness, of dreams and reality.”
Coffee and Cinephilia: A Conversation with J. Hoberman
Alejandra Rosenberg Interviews J. Hoberman
Houston Cinematic Arts Festival: Interview with Cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Marshall Shaffer Interviews Iconic Indie Cinematographer Fred Elmes
London Film Festival Review: Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Paterson’
“‘Paterson’ is about that circularity of life that simultaneously brings about sparks of creativity and moments of reassuring stability.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Day Three: Grey Skies, Surprise Guests and Uncle Howard
“Legacy can be a tricky topic for any perspective documentarian to cover, but when that legacy belongs to a close family member, and one who was himself a documentarian, it feels almost necessary.”
Q.V. Hough’s Top 10 Films of 2014
Q.V. Hough’s Top 10 Films of 2014