By Jon Mendelsohn Franchises are a funny thing. If a movie has a legacy, It really doesn’t matter whether a new take on a classic story is necessary. Hollywood will make a sequel every ten years if it’s guaranteed to make bank. That’s why I was skeptical when I first heard about Halloween (2018). Is … Continue reading
By Jake Triola As we approach both the release of the second of five—yes, five—Fantastic Beasts films, as well as the release of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, which has dazzled the festival circuit, taking the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, it seems like the right moment to revisit Harry Potter and the Prisoner of … Continue reading
By Jake Triola If ever there were a filmmaker obsessed with the relationship between film and literature, it’s François Truffaut, who is noted as saying “three films a day, three books a week, and records of great music would be enough to make me happy to the day I die.” A constant reader throughout his … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Django Unchained (2012) gives us a superhero in place of a slave. It’s a film that mocks racism, slavery and white supremacy in the most masturbatory way possible. The point is that people can go to the movies and see Jamie Foxx kicking a slave-owner’s ass, or see the KKK fumbling with … Continue reading
By Jake Triola John Huston’s late-career film, Wise Blood, is a 1979 adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel, which, as an intended parody of existentialism, follows a war veteran who sets out to form “The Holy Church of Christ Without Christ,” as an avowed atheist sickened by the spread of evangelicalism in the southern … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Although usually regarded as one of the worst Best Picture winners, Crash (2004) is not without support. Probably its most famous defender is Roger Ebert, who gave it a perfect 4/4 review. He calls it a movie of “intense fascination”, explaining that, “not many films have the possibility of making their audiences … Continue reading
By Tony Di Nizo While Disney dominates the animation arena, other studios are begging to throw their hat into the ring. Warner Animation Group, an underdog competitor has given the mouse house a run for their money with The Lego Movie franchise. Now they are back with another potential franchise, attempting to create another snow-themed … Continue reading
By Brendan McMahan Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have had muddled interactions over the last three years, with Spider-Man’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe being one of the few products of a deal we got to see. After the box office shortcoming of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Sony agreed to give Marvel the … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Hunger (2008) is a superb showcase of acting and filmmaking technique, yet I didn’t feel satisfied when it was over. To be fair, it’s not a traditional film. Hunger is a 24-minute dialogue scene bookended by 72 minutes of wordless storytelling. That one dialogue scene is spectacular, maybe the best I’ve ever … Continue reading
By Stephen Shea A Star is Born (2018) is the third remake of the classic tale of a young ingenue being taken in by an older, weathered performer. As she rises he falls. This time around the film is directed by Bradley Cooper who also stars with Lady Gaga as Jackson Maine and Ally respectively. … Continue reading
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