It’s a miracle that this movie ever got made, especially when considering it was released in 1998. Dark City is Alex Proyas’ masterwork as a filmmaker, a concoction so startling and unique which has helped to set it apart from so many other genre efforts from throughout the years. So few films are allowed…
La La Land is a giant burst of primary color fun, a widescreen musical that marries romantic comedy with aspirational drama, and if it’s not quite the movie I was expecting overall, it’s certainly a bold and memorable motion picture. Writer/director Damien Chazelle, working in a totally different tempo than his previous film, the razor-sharp…
I can’t believe that Bad Santa (or Badder Santa, whatever version you prefer) is almost 15 years old. It’s one of the funniest films that I’ve ever seen. It never gets old. It only gets funnier with each viewing. There’s a diseased sense of misanthropy running through the rotted heart of this cheerfully vulgar film,…
Manchester by the Sea is everything you have heard it to be and more. The backflips done by critics are totally warranted, and while this won’t be a film that everyone will appreciate, for this viewer, it represents the finest that storytelling can offer, and a complete confirmation that its writer/director, Kenneth Lonergan, is the…
t’s A Wonderful Life remains a stone cold classic of American cinema. Masterwork goes without saying; the very definition of unforgettable. Frank Capra knew how to mix true sadness with true uplift, and when you look back on the film now it’s sort of easy to understand why it wasn’t met with universal acclaim and…
Brad Bird’s wonderful film The Iron Giant has a ton of honest and genuine heart to match its retro animated style, and despite not finding a blockbuster theatrical audience, has become both a cult and family favorite for those looking for a film with a serious message and that still packs prime entertainment value. Released…
Released in limited theatrical markets last August, the rather stunning WWII espionage thriller Anthropoid deserved a much higher profile. Co-written, produced, and directed by Sean Ellis (the brilliant Metro Manila), who also served as his own astute cinematographer and nimble camera operator, this riveting piece of work tells the true story of Operation Anthropoid, which…
Matthew Ross, a former reporter for Variety and editor of Filmmaker magazine, has crafted an intense psychosexual drama with Frank and Lola, a film that might not necessarily be as believable as it wants to think that it is, but at the same time, features extremely strong performances from Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots, with…
Heaven Can Wait is a totally charming piece of work, a film that successfully mixes tones, filled with self-reflection, playful screwball comedy, sly social commentary, with a romance that is both emotionally affecting and rewarding on a narrative level, and a bit of light suspense added in to keep you slightly on edge. C o-directed…
The Big Short is currently available as a Netflix streaming option and I find myself watching it in bits and pieces on a nearly weekly basis. It’s absolutely fantastic. With stunning clarity considering the density of the material and the tendency for excessive jargon, Adam McKay’s phenomenally entertaining dramatization of the 2008 financial collapse…
Allied is an old-school entertainment made with new-school aesthetics, a film that feels refreshingly out of step from the constant demands of the studios: a star-driven, non-franchise, and thoroughly polished piece of filmmaking for adults that carries the express purpose of providing a good night out at the movies. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (one of…
Courtney Hunt’s quietly electrifying debut Frozen River was everything cinema should be – thought provoking, risk-taking, strange and new, and extremely powerful. So why has it taken Hunt nearly a decade to get a second feature up on movie screens? Anchored by Melissa Leo’s Oscar nominated and totally blistering performance as a woman nearing her…
Arrival is cinema I crave – a thought provoking, somber yet stylish, and thoroughly cerebral piece of storytelling within one of my favorite milieus, and produced independently of the major studios, thus feeling resolutely unconcerned with satisfying endless rounds of notes and enduring creative compromises that could have potentially sabotaged the crux of the piece…
Walter Hill is one of the manliest directors of my lifetime, or any lifetime. He’s made a career out of telling tales of gunslingers, cops, criminals, and loners, and I instinctively respond to his particular brand of tough guy cinema. Southern Comfort is one of my favorite efforts from Hill, a totally nasty and rather…
Training Day continues to be one of my favorite modern cop films. It smartly balanced entertainment value, social commentary, and genre expectations, with David Ayer’s superb script feeding into director Antoine Fuqua’s muscular visual style, aided by polished yet gritty camerawork from Mauro Fiore, and razor sharp editing courtesy of Conrad Buff. Denzel Washington delivered…
A Bigger Splash is one of those films where the primary interest is in exploring mood, atmosphere, and style before anything else. This is a movie about textures, surfaces, and bodies, and how people give off vibes (positive or negative) just by occupying the same space as others, without having to say much at all….
