Category: Movie Reviews
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Review: „Kajillionaire“ – Miranda July
Especially at the beginning, “Kajillionaire” is reminiscent of the films of Wes Anderson – when, for example, the family of three crooks repeatedly sneaks crouched past a site fence to escape their landlord who is waiting for his money. Or when Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), who only got her unusual name because she wanted…
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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…
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“Tenet” Review: The Brain-Bending Magic of Cinema is Back
Few names are more synonymous with modern cinema than Christopher Nolan. The acclaimed British auteur has amassed an enormous empire of epic studio action blockbusters with the craft of an arthouse film, focusing on the technical mastery of his craft and pushing the envelope of non-linear storytelling with a persistent obsession with time. “Memento” is…
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“The Painted Bird” Review: A Cold-Blooded Masterwork of Vicious Trauma
Ever since the beginning of humanity, terrible suffering has plagued countless lives. Film has always been a way to express torment too unimaginable to put to words, and it is only natural that stories of war would fall into that category. From Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Ivan’s Childhood”, to Volker Schlöndorff’s “The Tin Drum”, to Elem Klimov’s…
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“Unknown Gems”: 3 Underrated Movies I Love
If you find yourself thumbing through your streaming services and saying “I’ve seen that” over and over again, we’ve got you covered. From time to time our writers are going to recommend some hidden gems and films that mabye didn’t hit big when they were initinally released, but are well worth watching regardless. I focused…
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The Meticulous Magnificence of “Midsommar”
Every decade, hundreds of amazing films are released. And at the absolute peak of these films, there are those two or three filmmakers that emerge that you will absolutely fall in love with. For me, one of those filmmakers is Ari Aster. His brand of emotionally devastating and dramatic character studies wrapped up in the…
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The King of Staten Island: the emotional grapplings of a manboy
The depths of darkness often hide behind the comedy curtain. Freud once suggested that “humor is the fun-loving id making itself known despite the protestations of the conformist superego”. Some of the world’s greatest comedians, like Robin Williams or Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor are proof of that. It is clear Judd Apatow’s work seeks…
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Review: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” – Celine Sciamma
The release of Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” on Criterion Collection on June 23 has spurred an interest in the film that had been missed by some audiences. It is stunningly sad work – a tale of longing, beauty, and memory set amongst the portraiture of a desolate and difficult world. Amongst…
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Review: “Artemis Fowl”: Disney’s Mastery of Destroying Beloved Childhood Properties
As more and more adaptations and reimaginings of classic films and books become more rampant by the year, many major studios have bet wildly expensive production budgets on films adapted from young adult novels. Some like “Hugo”, “Coraline”, “A Monster Calls”, and the “Harry Potter” film saga have turned out incredibly well, with lots of…