Review

By Jacob Mertens.  Left buried in the formidable winter of Northern Quebec, Bruce (Thomas Haden Church) dwells in the cramped cabin of a snow plow. He drinks melted ice and eats tree bark, waits for the gas to ebb and the plow’s heat to die, then strikes out to forage […]

A Book Review by Brandon Konecny.  In recent years, theology has taken a growing interest in cinema, viewing it as both an effective exegetic tool and an intriguing cultural form worthy of the field’s attention, and this has brought with it the appearance of a number of stimulating works. However, […]

By Jacob Mertens. How tempting it would be to open this review with some Kerouac quote, a burst of frayed genius from his late stage novel Big Sur to set the tone. No doubt, it would give a better idea of what Michael Polish’s film adaptation sets out to accomplish, […]

By William Repass.  “Whenever I try to communicate, love disappears.” When finally—after what seems like an ice age of anticipation—you receive your package in the mail, strip away the bubble-wrap with trembling fingers to reveal Criterion’s sleek new La Notte box-set (complete with blu-ray digital restoration, bonus interviews, and a […]

By Cleaver Patterson. As the dark nights draw in and Christmas approaches, what better than to settle down and enjoy a good, old fashioned ghost story. It seems appropriate then that, as part of their Gothic season, the BFI has chosen to screen a classic chiller whose initial release was […]

By Jacob Mertens.  The folk singer sits at the fore of a small crowd in the Gaslight Cafe. The lights hang dim around him, pale concrete at his feet—more a somber tomb than a stage. He sings a strained ballad, voice raw and clear and imperfect but beautiful still. He […]

By Jacob Mertens.  A few months ago I was listening to NPR’s This American Life podcast, and I caught an episode that was devoted entirely to a hostage situation in Egypt’s Sinai desert. The story involved journalist Meron Estefanos stumbling onto a den of hostages all seeking rescue, unable to […]

By Christopher Sharrett. This overly promoted film had little to recommend it to me, certainly not the presence of Ridley Scott, whose last compelling film was Blade Runner (1982), made over a generation ago. I was interested in the screenplay by Cormac McCarthy, a novelist whose work I view with […]

Book Review by Brandon Konecny.  Theodor W. Adorno, one of the most recognized members of the Frankfurt School, is a figure seldom mentioned in film studies—and his scarcity is, admittedly, understandable. For anyone who’s read “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception,” Adorno firmly establishes himself as a scathing critic of […]

By Perle Petit. Miguel Gomes’ third feature film takes its name from F. W. Murnau’s 1931 Polynesian epic Tabu, a Story of the South Seas (1931). Released in 2012, Gomes’ sumptuously filmed black and white drama takes reference from the silent film genre to create a unique variation on Murnau’s classic, […]