Every introductory film class begins with one of cinema’s greatest tales: In 1896, the Lumière brothers screened a 50-second silent film called, in English, The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station. As legend has it, when the gigantic Read More …
“Labor Day”, Jason Reitman’s adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s novel, tells the story of an escaped convict who forces his way into the home of a young boy and his mother. Appearances are not always what they seem, and soon both Read More …
One would think making a forceful movie about one of the most beloved and badass characters in fictional history would be simple, if not downright easy. And yet time and time again, Wolverine finds himself neutered by the powers that Read More …
To explain “Frances Ha” to death is, in a way, to cheapen your enjoyment of it. Without a doubt, Noah Baumbach’s latest film—now in wide release—is so refreshingly meaningful and charismatic and funny that talking away all that it has Read More …
Over the past two decades, screenwriter Paul Laverty has penned some of the most nuanced, character-driven movies in world cinema. A prolific writer, Laverty’s films run the gamut from historical war pieces to working-class romances. His latest, The Angels’ Share, Read More …
It has always been a lifelong dream of mine to be a hot girl in a bikini waving a gun around on the beach, so of course I was all in to check out Harmony Korine’s (writer of “Kids”) new Read More …
I saw “Django Unchained” a few weeks ago, before the Sandy Hook tragedy, and truth be told I hadn’t connected the the two until I sat down to write this review and began to think of the extreme violence present Read More …
Paul Thomas Anderson is not known for making easy pictures. Even his most accessible film, “Boogie Nights,” finds its way into tough character dynamics, questions of conscience, and outsider morality. “The Master” runs in a similar vein. The protagonists are Read More …
Add 2 Fast 2 Furious to It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World. Toss in a sprinkle of Pulp Fiction, a pinch of Valley of the Dolls and, hell, a little Walk to Remember. Sound like a lot going on? Such Read More …
On August 14th, a funny thing happened. 30-some years after the U.S. all but wrote him off, Detroit-born singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez played the David Letterman show. The spot is a beautiful little piece of television, an appearance sweetened by the Read More …