Vague Visages Writers’ Room: Weekend Vibes 2.23.18
Weekend Vibes is a Friday column about streaming recommendations, new release hype and entertainment events.
In Conversation: Cillian Murphy from ‘Kitten’ Braden to Tommy Shelby
Leslie Hatton and Ciara Wardlow Discuss Cillian Murphy’s Career
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer on Paul Robeson
“As both a man and an artist, Paul Robeson deserves more recognition in 2018 and beyond.”
Critics in Conversation: Talking about Filmmakers and Talking with Them
Manuela Lazic and Adam Nayman on Conducting Interviews and Writing about Directors
CIFF After Dark Review: Patrick Brice’s ‘Creep 2’
“Horror fans may need to adjust their expectations if they’re looking for more frights than laughs.”
London Film Festival Review: Dee Rees’ ‘Mudbound’
“‘Mudbound’ plays the game and begins with a white man, but, throughout the course of an epic tale, it arrives at a moving destination.”
TIFF 2017 Review: Govinda Van Maele’s ‘Gutland’
“The brooding ominousness Van Maele plays with throughout seems to run through many of this year’s European offerings.”
Netflix from 5 to 6: Reed Morano’s ‘Meadowland’
“With ‘Meadowland,’ Reed Morano doesn’t shy away from pain, and neither should Netflix viewers.”
Review: Geoffrey Orthwein and Andrew Sullivan’s ‘Bokeh’
“It’s ‘The Leftovers’ minus the chainsmokers, angry locals and cryptic dialogue.”
Netflix from 5 to 6: Daniel Barber’s ‘The Keeping Room’
“There’s no blaze of glory, but rather a collective maturation. Patience is their virtue.”
‘Twin Peaks’ and Beyond the Alphabet
“The failure of language permeates ‘Twin Peaks,’
an abundance of verbiage disintegrating under the looming and ageless presence in the woods.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Marshall Shaffer’s #FilmStruckFebruary
Marshall Shaffer Reflects on a Full Month of FilmStruck
Two Drink Minimum: Christopher Guest’s ‘Mascots’
“Jamming its artistic support into the final few moments, ‘Mascots’ just checks off boxes.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills’
“It’s a savvy marketing strategy for extremely capitalist comedy, but the Shlesinger routine never amounts to anything more pleasant than being stuck sharing a cab with someone that seemed much more interesting several hours and drinks ago.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘Cedric the Entertainer: Live from the Ville’
“For all Cedric’s struggling against modernity, I can’t help but think Harambe would’ve improved this bit.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘David Cross: Making America Great Again!’ (Netflix)
“Similar to the audience polarization of other onenote comics (like Ricky Gervais), Cross’ locked, angry views overwhelm his substantial wit.”
Review: Werner Herzog’s ‘Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World’
“It is Herzog’s simultaneous exhibition of curiosity, awe, and irreverence in the face of the digitally connected world that makes ‘Lo and Behold’ a unique treatment of its subject that is not to be missed.”
‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’: In Celebration of Dramatic Women
“Through all of these corny musical numbers, the rom-com scenarios, and the outrageous ‘I Love Lucy’ levels of scheming, I find myself relating to Rebecca against the odds.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Recaps (Part 4 of 4)
“As long as those around BoJack grow more and more distant, so will his second chances.”
A Trip to the Sensory Deprivation Tank: Comparing ‘Fringe’ and ‘Stranger Things’
“Perhaps, in an alternate-parallel-upside-down universe somewhere, Fringe was a massive sensation on Netflix or Amazon Prime.”