Review

By Christopher Sharrett. I should say at the outset that my thoughts about the social-political vision (or failure thereof) of Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World are dependent on the fine work of Henry Giroux, whose remarks are available on the Internet (I’d recommend his “Neoliberalism and the Disappearance of the Social […]

A Book Review by Irv Slifkin. Who would have figured the Canadian director of such diverse films as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), North Dallas Forty (1979), and First Blood (1982) would be such an engaging raconteur? But here he is, at age 86, recounting great stories about the making of his films, the people […]

By Tony Williams. In his 2015 detailed and definitive study The Authentic Death and Contentious Afterlife of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Paul Seydor lamented the fact that then available copies of the only film Marlon Brando directed were from inferior sources and hoped to see “a proper, responsible […]

By John Duncan Talbird. Terrance Davies’ most recent film, A Quiet Passion, is a strange drama. It is a biopic and a period piece, an adaptation without a source text, an homage, and a fiercely original work. Most of the action takes place inside the walls of Emily Dickinson’s home in […]

By Ali Moosavi. Lynn Ramsey’s violent film noir was the last film to be shown at the Cannes Official Competition. It is based on a short novella by Jonathan Ames. Joaquin Phoenix has considerably beefed up to play the role of Joe, a heavy, doing jobs for a private dick. He […]

By Jeremy Carr. The 1980s was a pivotal period for horror films. As low-budget “Video Nasty” provocations steadily faded from America’s grindhouse screens, the down and dirty days of the 1970s were getting displaced by family-friendly creature features and box office-busting franchises. Though there had been historical antecedents for decades, […]

By Elias Savada. There is a hidden recluse swirling around our theaters (and video on demand), and his name is Wakefield. Please go find him. While Howard Wakefield seems normal enough when first spotted in the hustle and bustle crowds pushing air about the streets of New York City, his […]

By Elias Savada. Aki Kaurismäki may have to scooch over a bit to make room in the upper tier of Finnish cinema for thirty-something director Juho Kuosmanen. While Kaurismäki’s deadpan style has spanned 18 features since 1983, the 60-year-old auteur said his latest film, The Other Side of Hope, would be […]

By Ali Moosavi. The late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s last film, 24 Frames, was shown as a special event of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, bringing an innovative, masterful career to an end. His words introduce the project best: I first conceived of 24 Frames while reflecting on the works of iconic painters whose […]

By Ali Moosavi. Sofia Coppola’s decision to remake Don Siegel’s 1971 film The Beguiled (in Official Competition at this year’s Cannes), seems on the surface as strange and intriguing as Coen Brothers’ remake of Henry Hathaway’s True Grit. Both films had been made from a novel adaptation by directors with a […]