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 […]
Delayed Gratification – ReFocus: The Films of Albert Brooks
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. A much-needed overview not just of the filmmaker, but of his enduring cultural impact.” Read any critical piece on Albert Brooks and you’ll invariably encounter descriptors like “underappreciated” or “overlooked.” But what is meant, exactly, by such labels? After all, two of his films […]
The Houses That Hooper Built – American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper
A Book Review by Thomas Puhr. An artist who found ways to mine his obsessions late into his fraught career. Those who agree will find American Twilight indispensable.” With George A. Romero garnering posthumous accolades, thanks to the release of his long lost The Amusement Park (1973), now is an […]
New York Stories: Dasha Nekrasova’s The Scary of Sixty-First (2021)
By Thomas Puhr. Nekrasova shows a willingness to tackle taboo subject matter in what is nominally a comedic genre exercise.” The opening credits of The Scary of Sixty-First (2021) deftly blend elements of ‘60s and ‘80s horror. The pink, handwritten font – played over panning shots of Manhattan – instantly […]
Innovative Filmmaking, Rainbow Horror, and a Movie That Cannot Decide Which Story to Tell: Lair
By Theresa Rodewald. The demonic presence itself is never properly explained or explored…. Still, Lair tells an interesting story with numerous twists and turns and has quite a few chilling moments.” Steven Caramore (Corey Johnson) is a ghost hunter who does not believe in ghosts. To him, the supernatural is […]
Shoot and Shoot Again – Any Gun Can Play: The Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns (2nd Ed.)
A Book Review by Tony Williams. By using “Euro-Westerns” Grant reveals his respect for the genre, his refusal to acquiesce in previous terminology and his dedication to writing what is the most definite study of the genre it has ever received.” Although European Westerns and their Mexican counterparts influenced the […]
“It’s All Cinema” – Consuming Images: Film Art and the American Television Commercial
A Book Review by Matthew Sorrento. A wonderful overview of commercial history that introduces an emerging field in film studies, one sure to inspire further study….” It’s rare to find an introductory text on a truly emerging or ignored film studies topic. Many intro texts repackage established research to offer an alternative […]
Coming of Rage in Belgium: Coyotes (A Netflix Limited Series)
By Anees Aref. Audiences usually averse to non-English language fare should find much to enjoy….” Think again before joining a Belgian summer camp. A lot of trouble is brewing for the young scouts in the new suspenser Coyotes, a Belgian-Luxembourg produced series where youthful tensions and unsavory adult supervision clash […]
Off with His Egghead!: Adam Donen’s Alice, Through the Looking (2021)
By Thomas Puhr. Pretense is not a bad word in Alice, Through the Looking; it’s a given…. The question becomes whether or not these antics serve a purpose beyond provocation.” In Alice, Through the Looking (2021) writer-director Adam Donen quickly announces his intention to break as many perceived conventions as […]