By Elias Savada. As The Marijuana Conspiracy pushes toward its hazy end, the drugged-out zombies don’t seem to be as energetic or fun-loving as at the beginning.” I suspect the last thing you want to do in a light cannabis dramedy about the “weed with roots in hell” — a […]
Possibilities of Post-Cinema: Discorrelated Images
Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)
Deep in the Heart of McConaughey: Greenlights (a Memoir)
By Louis J. Wasser. Decidedly the memoir of a confident and determined man – one who, after minimal dilly-dallying at a yellow light, finds his way to the next significant greenlight in his life and acting career.” When noted actor Matthew McConaughey alerts us, “this is not a traditional memoir,” […]
Beer Lovers Rejoice! Even the Rest of You Can Enjoy Brewmance
By Elias Savada. The film is a light approach to what goes into the process of building a vision: a brewery, a name, a way of life.” In the world of beer-centric documentaries, Brewmance is the latest and one of the most effervescent salutes to fine craft libations, yet also […]
Lubitsch’s Last Bow: Cluny Brown (Criterion Collection)
By Tony Williams. Cluny Brown belongs to that lost realm of Hollywood cinema that combined expert and unique direction with distinctive acting and a humor that critiqued arbitrary patterns of imposed behavior….” Ernst Lubitsch’s last completed film, Cluny Brown (1946), represents a fitting conclusion to that director’s special version of […]
Dirty Girls in London’s Shadows: Corrina Faith’s The Power
By Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. Rose Williams shines as Val in an increasingly physically demanding performance that results in a powerful viewing experience, both in terms of the film’s gender politics and as a banger of a horror film.” In early 1974, the Tory government in Britain under the control of Prime […]
Essentially Human Ordeals: Chilean Cinema in the Twenty-First-Century World
Video Club (Pablo Illanes, 2013)
Reinforced Perspective: Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View (1974)
By Jeremy Carr. Pakula adopts an accordingly striking compositional tension throughout the picture, isolating portions of the frame and dwarfing individuals in an abstract expanse, suggesting both a voyeuristic perspective and an unnerving environmental apprehension.” It might be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when being a […]
Isolation in Contemporary Brooklyn: Tim Sutton’s Funny Face
By Gary M. Kramer. Funny Face may require some work on the viewer’s part to put the pieces together, but for those willing to make the effort, Sutton’s striking drama is ultimately rewarding.” Tim Sutton makes ambitious, hypnotic cinema. His latest effort, Funny Face is another brilliantly shot mood piece […]
Let’s Get Ready to Rubble: Godzilla vs. Kong
By Elias Savada. Over-the-top action (and) ludicrous to the max, yet if you expel all your notions of common sense, there’s a chance you might enjoy it.” A couple of senior citizens – longtime movie icons, too – walk into a big city bar and start a fight. One is […]