The Deer Hunter (1978) Review

The Deer Hunter is a film of overwhelming magnitude and staggering directorial force. The first hour is magisterial, giving way to Hell, and then into rocky redemption. Director Michael Cimino was on another level here, while the screenplay (which was written by Deric Washburn from a story by Washburn, Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, and Quinn Redeker)…

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What Maisie Knew (2012) Review

What Maisie Knew is one of the most perceptive, honest, and devastating films that I’ve ever seen to involve a young child as its lead protagonist. Onata Aprile’s performance is unexpectedly extraordinary, projecting a sense of maturity well beyond her years (she was six years old at the time of filming), and is nothing less…

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the beguiled review

The Beguiled Review

Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled is a ravishing film to look at, and I’m not surprised that she won Best Director at Cannes. This is a Cannes movie if there ever was one, and on a production/aesthetic level, it’s one of the richest pieces I’ve seen this year. I’d have to assume that the utterly stunning…

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Certain Women Review

Kelly Reichardt’s films all have the same tone and atmosphere, whether she’s exploring two men walking, talking, and camping (the wonderful and incisive Old Joy), a spiritually lost woman and her beloved dog in rainy Oregon (Wendy & Lucy, still my favorite films of hers), the dangerous and dusty open range (Meek’s Cutoff, brilliant), or…

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Dave Made A Maze Review

Dave Made A Maze Review

The charming, offbeat indie Dave Made a Maze is one of those efforts that truly feels hand-made and the product of a filmmaker who had a very specific vision and a very specific way of realizing that vision. Directed by Bill Watterson from a script he co-wrote with Steven Sears, this quirky and unconventional piece…

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