‘Cocote’: A Shapeless, Ambitious Debut with Fits of Beauty
“Despite not having much to glom onto, narratively, ‘Cocote’ is a blunt film, and your mileage may vary based on how receptive you are to de Los Santos Arias’ formalistic provocations…”
You Gotta Act: John Cusack’s Passionate and Pragmatic Approach to His Craft
“Looking at Cusack’s entire body of work helps one realise that, with age and experience, he has built an increasingly complex and multifaceted persona, playing off his image in order to counter expectations and, probably, to remain excited by his job.”
See and Be Seen: Aaron Schimberg’s ‘Chained for Life’
“In a borough of New York teeming with independent and micro-budget filmmakers, Aaron Schimberg is one of the handful to keep an eye out for with every new work that he makes.”
Critics in Conversation: The Critic and the Actor
In the second part of a three-chapter conversation conducted over months via a large Google Doc, Manuela Lazic and Adam Nayman discuss acting and how film critics interpret performances.
Vague Visages Writers’ Room: Favorite Film Noir Moments
In the Vague Visages Writers’ Room on Facebook, freelancers were asked to comment about their favorite film noir moments in celebration of #Noirvember.
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Louis Malle’s ‘Black Moon’
“Communication — or the lack thereof — is key to ‘Black Moon.’”
The Sadness of Desert Trolls: On Robert Altman’s ‘3 Women’
“Altman balances searing interpersonal conflicts with a visual rhythm that’s downright whimsical.”
A Light of Pure Gold: The Ideal of the Painter in Old Hollywood’s Waning Days
“The filmmaker continues to dream of the painter’s Arcadia, however illusory it may be.”
DIFF 2017 Reviews: ‘Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl’ and ‘Los Presentes’
“The ambition and concept are good to have, it just takes a lot more work to match the craft and care of Bergman, Altman or Lynch.”
Broken Embraces and Unforgettable Form: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Inherent Vice’
“If Phoenix serves as the Michael Jordan of Inherent Vice, then Paul Thomas Anderson is Phil Jackson. Together, they run the show like nobody else can.”