By Elias Savada. As its lights dim into darkness and its cacophony of building noises rise up, The Humans poses as a survivor’s journey….Karam offers a absorbing approach to how the dead continue to haunt us.” In the lead up to this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, many Americans are finally escaping […]
Cycles of Regret: Children of Divorce (1927)
By Tony Williams. While Children of Divorce appears to have some superficial resemblances to those DeMille “roaring 20s” catalogs of the foibles and foolishness of the idle rich, its underlying premises are more somber. The home video release of Children of Divorce is the latest collaboration between Flicker Alley and […]
Don’t Call Her Old: Omara
By Anees Aref. A loosely structured film veering back and forth between the past and present….It’s filled with nostalgia and sentiment, though as we hang around Omara we find she is interested in neither [and] focused on the present….” Omara Portuondo, the Grand Dame of the Riviera, aka the Grand […]
“There Seems to be a Slight Mistake” – Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies
By Jeremy Carr. As a silent film comedian, Horton crafted a distinctive identity, and when working under the aegis of Harold Lloyd, starring in a series of two-reel shorts for the celebrated filmmaker’s Hollywood Productions, he reveled in stories perfectly suited to his comic temperament.” Edward Everett Horton looked funny, […]
Stay Hungry: Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Julia
By Elias Savada. The anecdotes and stories fly by with breathtaking glee, broken up by rare footage of the master at work. The directors keep the talking heads on target as diary entries explore her broadening excitement.” Julia Child always left me smiling. And hungry. She may have died 17 […]
The Perks of Being a Chameleon – Eye of the Taika: New Zealand Comedy and the Films of Taika Waititi
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. Matthew Bannister’s goal [is] to go beyond merely celebrating/adoring its subject. Cheeky title notwithstanding, this book is no puff piece.” I’d only seen two Taika Waititi films – What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – before picking up Matthew […]
The Man Who Wasn’t There: Speer Goes to Hollywood
By Anees Aref. An informative if somewhat dry history lesson, Speer is a cautionary tale of historical whitewashing that reaches for urgency in a time of increased worries over misinformation and “fake news” being peddled around the world.” Whatever one may say about the Nazis, and a lot has been […]
No Magic Allowed: Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt
By Thomas Puhr. Embodies the most grating qualities of the message movie. Calling this supernatural allegory on-the-nose would be giving it far too much credit.” Most, if not all, films convey a message – implicit or explicit – but some are a message; that is, they have little reason to […]
A Not-So-Prodigal Daughter Returns: Spencer King’s Time Now
By Elias Savada. A dirge-worthy film, chock full of familial doom and gloom….If you like despondency and depression, here’s an indie effort that doses it out in large quantities.” Spencer King, the writer and director of Time Now, has crafted a dirge-worthy film, chock full of familial doom and gloom. […]
Wagging the Horses’ Tale — Steven Latham’s The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses
By Elias Savada. A fine, upstanding look at the breed of feral steeds that have been an iconic symbol for the American West for centuries and, yes, it has a slow-build message. I have never been a horse person. That was my sister, an equestrian who would ride from morning […]