‘Fatal Attraction’ at 30
“Lyne does not believe in the ‘New Man.'”
Obsession and Compulsion: A Deep Look at ‘Single White Female’
“In ‘Single White Female,’ being fixated with a person’s looks, behavior and personality represents a fetishization of that person as a whole.”
Review: Fabrice Du Welz’s ‘Message from the King’ (Netflix Original)
“For the most part, ‘Message from the King’ doesn’t mess around.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: Jeremy Carr on Anthony Mann’s ‘T-Men’ and ‘Raw Deal’
“In both ‘T-Men’ and ‘Raw Deal,’ Alton and Mann take what is already a heightened genre and somehow intensify its formal qualities.”
Instant Cult Classic: Gary Michael Schultz’s ‘Vincent N Roxxy’
“Either you love the squeaky rollercoaster or you’ve got no time for the squeaky rollercoaster. Welcome to the carnival.”
‘Beyond the Lights’ and ‘Into the Forest’: Nina Simone as a Tool for Female Empowerment
“The female gaze, when expanded and reproduced through various media, can be a significant tool of empowerment for exploring and blending different artistic themes and forms.”
Review: Brent Bonacorso’s ‘You Get Me’
“‘You Get Me’ is predictable and often frustrating, but the visuals leave a lasting impression.”
The Bottom Line: Q.V. Hough, Jeremy Carr, Bill Arceneaux and Peter Bell on ‘V for Vendetta’
Vague Visages Chat Transcript
Devious Dialogues: Anya Stanley and Mike Thorn on Fox’s ‘The Exorcist’
A.M. Novak and Mike Thorn Discuss FOX’s ‘The Exorcist’!
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2017 – Roberto Andò’s ‘The Confessions’
“Sleek visuals and cryptic dialogue aren’t enough to save a film that’s essentially a truncated season of ‘House of Cards.'”
The Bottom Line: Q.V. Hough, Jeremy Carr and Bill Arceneaux on ‘Cobra’
Vague Visages Chat Transcript
Cannes Film Festival Review: Roman Polanski’s ‘Based on a True Story’
“The title is, of course, a knowing joke. ‘Based on a True Story’ couldn’t be further from reality.”
Tribeca Film Festival Reviews: Men with Guns – ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’
“What ‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Hondros’ have in common is the notion that men with guns aren’t as brave or bloodthirsty as they seem.”
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.”
Not Your Trophy: Deer Imagery in Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’
“‘Get Out’ explores many notions: the duplicitous nature of liberal racism, the cumulative damage of microaggressions and appropriation, assimilation versus acculturation. But it’s the deer imagery that continue to elude audiences.”
Vague Visages Is FilmStruck: François Truffaut’s ‘Shoot the Piano Player’
“Truffaut and Coutard punctuate ‘Shoot the Piano Player’ with a vibrant rendering of its wintry Parisian setting, where the city is an ever-present visual marker…”
When the Male Gaze Breaks: Between ‘The Neon Demon’ and ‘Black Swan’
“In Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ and Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon,’ the female body is used in its most delicate and presumptuously feminine form.”
Genre Whiplash: The Surprising Genius of Karyn Kusama
“By providing viewers with a satirical undertone, Kusama offers a place to rest, making the subversion of viewer expectations all the more potent.”
The Many Peculiar Virtues of Wes Craven’s ‘My Soul to Take’
“As the second last film in one of the great contemporary horror filmmaker’s careers, it’s an extraordinary example of artistic self-reflection and development.”
Moments of Revelation in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ and ‘Shutter Island’
“What is the cost to oneself of living by a system of belief?”