By Elias Savada. The Automat shouldn’t be looked at as a eulogy [1902-1991], but as a celebration of its long and mostly successful life.” “The food was delicious…the price was right.” So says the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Lisa Hurwitz’s affectionate look at the lost era […]
Drifting Through New York: Justin Zuckerman’s Yelling Fire in an Empty Theater
By Thomas Puhr. As a whole, Lisa’s journey feels all the more real thanks to this unpolished packaging – proof positive that you can achieve all kinds of magic with one camera and some game, engaging performers in front of it.” The “love letter to New York” subgenre is beyond […]
Everything I Expected, and Too Much More: Moonfall Crashes Big
By Elias Savada. If you want an ear-smashing IMAX presentation, you’ll get one…. If you’re a reasonable person, you should avoid being in its vicinity.” Critics haven’t taken kindly to much of the escapist entertainment from German-born producer-director-writer Roland Emmerich. So, why should his latest be any different? It’s not. […]
‘Uncanny Sonic Novum’: Liz Faber’s The Computer’s Voice: From Star Trek to Siri
A Book Review by Paula Murphy. The Computer’s Voice offers a lively, engaging study and makes an important contribution to our understanding of the ways in which film and television both reflect and shape our attitudes to technology.” Conversing with smart devices has become an everyday occurrence: ‘Alexa, what’s the […]
“Just Look at It!”: Iván Zulueta’s Arrebato (Altered Innocence)
By Thomas Puhr. Altered Innocence’s reissue will hopefully not only satiate fans, but also seduce more viewers into joining the Zulueta fold.” On paper, José (Eusebio Poncela) has a life many aspiring filmmakers would happily take. A director of B-level horror movies with titles like The Curse of the Wolfman, […]
An Arctic Train Ride: Compartment No. 6
By Anees Aref. “A charming and elegantly crafted story about romantic longing, companionship, and the surprising places people find it.” Whether as a dramatic or metaphorical tool, the train can function in various ways to explore the inner and outer dramas of both character and plot, emotional and physical spaces. […]
Nostalgia Rides the Rails: Alex Nevill’s Ferroequinology
By Elias Savada. Ferroequinology is a pleasant ebb and flo road movie about wandering souls. Laconic, lyrical, observatory, and part soft-spoken public service announcement.” At just 66 minutes, Ferroequinology is a short-haul documentary about a big ass word (the study of the iron horse, i.e., locomotives, but the film is […]
Break It Down – New Approaches to Contemporary Adaptation
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. Fortunately, editor Betty Kaklamanidou’s collection sifts through these multimodal weeds and offers some new models for interpretation.” If you play a quick game of word association and ask someone what comes to mind when they hear about a film “adaptation,” you’ll likely get something […]
A Globalized Supply Chain: Sean Wang’s A Marble Travelogue
By Yun-hua Chen. Sean Wang, with his unique sensitivity, sharp observation, and a somewhat dry sense of humor, reveals just how surrealist the supply chain system under globalization can be.” A Marble Travelogue, a coproduction of China, France, Greece, and the Netherlands, premiered at the IDFA Frontlight in 2021. It […]
Things Get Ugly with The 355
By Elias Savada. The top-notch female cast isn’t provided a decent blueprint to develop out of the provided stereotypes. The James Bond—Mission: Impossible spin that the actors try to emulate never takes full flight.” Universal Pictures’ The 355, a shiny production of a fairly dull film, is being pushed as […]