By Jacob Mertens. “It was to be the fate of this patient little girl to see much more than, at first, she understood, but also, even at first, to understand much more than any little girl, however patient, had perhaps ever understood before. Only a drummer-boy in a ballad or […]
The Wolverine (2013)
July 23, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. Comic-book characters must be a Hollywood dream. A film featuring one, if a hit, is a potential goldmine—with the possibility of limitless prequels, sequels, spinoffs and merchandising opportunities, it is a virtual license to print money. Even if a film is not a success, all the studio […]
Only God Forgives
July 22, 2013
By Christopher Sharrett. When I learned that Nicholas Winding Refn’s new film would be set in Bangkok and include martial arts, drugs, and extreme violence, I was disheartened. It seemed that Refn was reaching for a larger audience, with material for which I have no interest at all. I make […]
Business as Usual: James Wan’s The Conjuring
July 20, 2013
By Wheeler Winston Dixon. The Conjuring is a remarkably traditional film in both style and content; once again exorcism and possession are ramped up for the usual thrill ride, complete with objects flying around the house, children in peril, a possessed mother, ghosts from the past tormenting the living, with […]
Roman Holiday (1953)
July 18, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. Some films are almost as famous for their advertising posters or specific scenes, as they are for the production as a whole. Director William Wyler’s Roman Holiday–the romantic comedy which created cinematic magic by pairing the elfin Audrey Hepburn (in her only Oscar winning role) and debonair […]
Side Effects (2013)
July 17, 2013
By Victoria Tickle. It is a great joy and a rare find to come across a film that lets you believe that you have out-smarted it and know what is going on, whilst all the time waiting for the right moment to reveal its truths to you. Steven Soderbergh’s Side […]
The Lone Ranger (2013)
July 15, 2013
By Cleaver Patterson. Many years ago, when the American West was still wild and the railway was being used to bring the two coasts of that great nation together, there was a man of the law called John Reid (Armie Hammer). In the midst of the open deserts of Texas […]
The Myths and a Master: Pacific Rim
July 10, 2013
By Matthew Sorrento. It would be convenient to view Pacific Rim as a metaphor for its creator. Having abandoned the job of directing Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, in a widely publicized decision, Guillermo del Toro may have elected to make a simple story, pairing giant aliens versus megaton human-driven bots, […]
Floating Weeds (1959)
July 10, 2013
By Jacob Mertens. Yasujiro Ozu makes films that sneak up on you. They may feel simple and slow-paced at first, but the heart of his stories are too delicately expressed, and far too complete, for an audience not to be moved. To call Ozu’s Floating Weeds a masterwork may be […]
Monsters University (2013)
July 9, 2013
By Jacob Mertens. It would be easy to dismiss Monsters University as a child’s film with little pull for adults, or even to warm to the film’s slapstick and nostalgia for its predecessor and let it be at that. Unlike earlier Pixar films such as Wall-E (2008), which easily transcends […]