Author: SEANKLAUS
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SeanKlaus: The Top 38 Films of 2019 & 2020
2019 and 2020 are total polar opposites in terms of cinema. In every way 2019 was one of the best years in the history of film, 2020 was an abysmal and depressing regression. Where 2019 was filled with amazing cinematic achievements and was the best year in cinema since 1999, 2020 was filled with delayed…
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“Cherry” Review: Russo Brothers’ Follow-up to the MCU is A Misguided Exercise in Cinematic Pretension
To say Joe and Anthony Russo have reshaped the landscape of cinema would be an understatement. After successfully redeeming the latter two-thirds of the “Captain America” trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Russo brothers went on to direct the 4th and 2nd highest-grossing films of all time respectively with “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers:…
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“Music” Review: Repulsive LifeTime Original Parody of Autism Is Astonishingly Unbearable
The accurate depiction of mental illness in mainstream media is an uphill battle we are not winning. Despite the occasional film or television show that goes above and beyond in respectively and accurately depicting mental health, with some newer examples being depression being handled incredibly well in the HBO show “Euphoria”, the 2012 film “The…
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“Call Me By Your Name” Review: The Most Beautiful Film of the 21st Century Thus Far
As we have crossed the threshold of the first two decades of this new millennium, we have been lucky enough to experience some of the most gorgeous displays of cinema in history. The rise and evolution of digital cinematography has allowed for some of the most mind-blowing camerawork, whether it be the 42-minute unbroken shot…
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“Wolfwalkers” Review: Best Animated Film of the Last 5 Years is Mystifying & Audaciously Extraordinary
Animation in cinema is an amazing art form that is sadly underutilized in terms of its potential. We have experienced the majesty of Pride Rock in 1994’s “The Lion King”, we have transformed into a rat with a love for cooking in a Paris restaurant with 2007’s “Ratatouille”, and we have seen the fate of…
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“Run” Review: Best Studio Thriller Of The Year Is A Masterclass of Building Tension
Major film studios have a massive creativity problem. Not out of lack of resources or lack of talent at their disposal, but out of an increasingly algorithmic decision-making process to take whatever was financially successful from the previous years and replicate it. The only way to find any substantial funding for mid-range artist-driven films with…
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The Emotional Euphoria of “Waves”
Few independent filmmakers of the last several years have had as interesting of a short-spanned career thus far as Trey Edward Shults. Starting off in the early 2010s as an intern and production assistant on Terrence Malick’s films “The Tree of Life”, “Voyage of Time” and “Song to Song”, Shults steadily created short films with…
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“The Devil All The Time” Review: Antonio Campos’ Heartrending and Brutal Magnum Opus Cuts Deep
As the landscape of cinema is ever-evolving, filmmakers that look to challenge their audiences have less and less ability to find funding for large-scale projects. While directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino may have the resources to make their wild original projects, they only can do so with the backing of their studios that…
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“Lux Æterna” Review: Demented Descent Into Hell is Gaspar Noé’s Most Hysterical Film Yet
Gaspar Noé is a filmmaker that warrants strong reactions. Whether it be causing 250 walkouts at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival with “Irrevérsible”, or filming unsimulated sex scenes in his 3D film “Love”, or filming a 42-minute-long unbroken take for “Climax”, Noé takes immense pleasure in causing a whirlwind of provocation and emotional turmoil in…
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“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” Review: Charlie Kaufman Returns with Another Existential Masterpiece
Few filmmakers have fallen farther down the rabbit hole of existentialism than Charlie Kaufman. The screenwriter/director has penned some of the most thought-provoking and original films ever made, having been nominated for two of his scripts and one of his directorial efforts at the Academy Awards, as well as winning Best Original Screenplay for 2004’s…