By Richmond B. Adams. John Ford’s Will Rogers vehicle has yet to receive the full credit for the complexities of its cultural commentary…. the present examination will argue that Judge Priest undermines the world it supposedly affirms.” From the middle-1920s through his death in 1946, my maternal grandfather, the Reverend […]
Cinema without Reason: Quentin Dupieux’s Daaaaaalí!
By Jonathan Monovich. Dupieux’s Daaaaaalí! understands that to make a faithful film about Dalí it should lack convention.” Though Salvador Dalí’s paintings are far more famous than his contributions to cinema, Dalí’s peculiar signature left an indelible mark on film history as well. Dalí and Luis Buñuel’s collaboration, Un chien […]
A Comedic Journey into Tragedy: Joel Potrykus on Vulcanizadora
By Jenny Paola Ortega Castillo. The goal, really, was to keep the audience off balance and unsure of how to feel.” –Joel Potrykus Joel Potrykus has crafted yet another unforgettable cinematic experience with his latest chilling film, Vulcanizadora (2024). Potrykus weaves a narrative that oscillates between moments of comedic camaraderie […]
Bodies Bodies Bodies: Francis Galluppi’s The Last Stop in Yuma County
By Thomas M. Puhr. Even at its bleakest – and it features some shockingly meanspirited turns of fate – the film keeps one eye on being a good time at the movies.” Francis Galluppi’s The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023) opens with a bird sitting atop an empty pump […]
The Holdovers: Alexander Payne Rises Again
By Elias Savada. A big, gift-wrapped present filled with sentimentality and lovely, effective performances….” Always a visionary, and one whose seven previous features as a director have garnered considerable acclaim—the sole, gaping-wound exception being 2017’s Downsizing, a disastrous journey into sci-fi dramedy with Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig—director-producer-writer Alexander Payne […]
Scorsese’s Night Moves: After Hours (1985)
By Jeremy Carr. Scorsese’s follow-up to The King of Comedy (1982) can be as stressed as any thriller or even a horror film, or as ostensibly innocuous and banal as a plaster of Paris bagel and cream cheese paperweight.” It starts with a pen that doesn’t work, just as he’s […]