***Spoiler Warning*** Destiny, meaning, love, and lingering loss are the essential elements of drama. Known to us since Sophocles and Shakespeare, we judge literature, art, and cinema by these metrics. Sound of Metal- an Amazon original directed by Darius Marder, starring Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, and Paul Raci- has […]
Conventional wisdom is boring. In every election year it is always gravely intoned that elections boil down to turnout, and if that obvious fact is true it is equally so that casting can make-or-break films. Facts are stubbornly resistant to the human desire for novelty and adages grow […]
Christopher Nolan is obsessed with time, with humanity’s attempts to master it, and how simple shifts in perspective can subvert the very fabric of reality. In Tenet, Nolan attempts to achieve the near-impossible – create a smart, stylish spy film with a fantastical premise and naturalistic storytelling. He mostly […]
Director: Lynne Sachs Editor: Rebecca Shapass Composer: Stephen Vitiello Film About a Father Who is visionary filmmaker Lynne Sachs’ method of processing her father’s complicated legacy. The opening of the film — a comb pulled gently through the mass of Ira Sachs’ hair by disembodied fingers — subtly […]
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is finally out; it’s the end of 40 years of fandom. The completion of a story arc that has captivated the hearts and minds of moviegoers around the world and the definitive ending to one of the world’s most lucrative cinematic trilogies. […]
Queen and Slim: Messy, Unfocused, Sublime Queen and Slim is a 2019 film directed by Malina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe and James Frey. The movie features Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as the titular characters and Chloe Sevigny and Bokeem Woodbine in supporting roles. “Queen” currently […]
The history of cinema is replete with examples of re-examined artifacts; films that were ahead of their time or conversely out of step with modern techniques and values. Blade Runner is perhaps the preeminent example of the former, and the growing consensus that American Beauty is overrated is […]
*Mild spoilers* Carnival Row begins with a bang. Reminiscent of Black Panther, brilliantly rendered stone-like figures stand in relief to illustrate a history told by text. These figures showcase the aspirations of creators René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, the Amazon imprint and a host of directors (Thor Freudenthal, […]
Domination, elitism, capitalism and the culture of critique all take turns under the microscope in Dan Gilroy’s satire/thriller Velvet Buzzsaw. Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and Zawe Ashton star in a piercing, pointed and sometimes poignant take on the tragedy of art in an age of commercialization. Velvet Buzzsaw […]
