By Elias Savada. A light yet cautionary examination of a tight-knit, eponymous community in Iowa, and how one family has provided an important lifeline via its journal to area folks. And how their readers support it back.” Times have been tough for everyone, especially for those in the news business. […]
Reassessing a Master – ReFocus: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. Tarkovsky is one of those directors who’s cited (and copied) so often that it becomes easy to take for granted just how singular his work remains, but this collection may prompt even the most cynical of critics to reassess his output with fresh eyes.” […]
When Worlds Collide: Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero (1983)
By Tony Williams. Local Hero is much more complex than the frequent tourist’s bird’s eye of an unspoiled Britain. Something more complex, darker, and resonant appears with the frequent viewings it demands.” After some disappointing recent releases, it was welcome news to see Criterion return to its former status with […]
Designer Stereotypes: Craig Gillespie’s Cruella
By Elias Savada. Playing like a broad comedy, Cruella offers a stereotypical look at many of the characters who parade in and out during the film’s extensive running time.” Two well-coiffed cats are let out of their retro style, high fashion bags in a new live-action origin spectacle from Disney, […]
John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II, as Scary Good as the Original
By Elias Savada. As you get wrapped up in the frenetic action inside the film’s compact, 97-minute structure, you’ll admire the thrill ride that The Quiet Place Part II is taking you on.” Just when you thought it might finally be safe to go back to watching movies in a […]
Challenging the Myths of the Australian Frontier: High Ground
By Theresa Rodewald. Instead of perpetuating the myth of Australia as terra nullius or ’empty land’ that previous to European settlement had not belonged to anyone, the film depicts the clash of colonisers and First Nations people in a country that had been anything but empty.” Gorgeously shot and drawing […]
Between God and the Streets: Zeshwan Ali’s Two Gods
By Edward Avery-Natale. The potential conflict of God and the streets is but one collocation in a film ripe with dialectical appositions, which are themselves well represented by the choice to shoot the movie in black and white.” Two Gods, directed by Zeshwan Ali, is a study in contrast and […]
Underdogs Unite! Dream Horse Rouses to Victory
By Elias Savada. Director Euros Lyn, a Welshman himself, creates an affectionate rendering of country life and the subtle idiosyncrasies of the people in this one (race) horse town….” The true story about thoroughbred racehorse Dream Alliance that was transformed into the rousing documentary Dark Horse back in 2015 has […]
The Dark Hobby: Speaking Up for the Endangered
By Elias Savada. Just because Hawaii has protected its underseas reefs, sand, and rocks from pilferage, the state has taken a totally opposite approach to protect the sea life that does most of the work to keep its reefs from dying.” The world is a sad and beautiful place. And […]
A Welcome Return to Saudi Arabia: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate
By Ali Moosavi. Though a simple story, The Perfect Candidate is a quiet gem that explores a number of deep-rooted issues regarding the rights of women in conservative societies, how women are viewed by men in these cultures, and the role of music and media in providing both joy and […]