By Jackson Diianni The critical discourse surrounding Robert Bresson has been some of the most contentious in film history, due, in large part, to a crucial impasse among scholars. Bresson criticism has traditionally been divided into two rival groups; the “transcendentalists” and the “materialists”, referring, in the broadest sense, to the spiritual and secular interpretations … Continue reading
By Joel Liss One of the few truly great jokes to come out of the ten years of NBC’s Friends occured in a season three episode called “The One With The Screamer.” It pays off a season-long arc about Joey starring in – what we are shown to be – a traditional kitchen-sink drama on … Continue reading
By Stephen Shea Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) tells the stories of a fictional TV star Rick Dalton, his stunt double Cliff Booth, and Actress Sharon Tate in 1969 Hollywood, around the time of the Manson murders. It is an ambitious film that has all the trappings of a Tarantino movie (feet, violence, … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni The first thing one notices about Dogville (2003) is the way it looks. It’s essentially a stage play, shot in a blackbox, on a minimalist set. This presentation style is new to film, but it is borrowed from the theater, which can be said of the film’s content as well. Dogville is … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni I had high expectations for The Pledge (2001). It was placed on Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list, effectively naming it one of the 300 (give or take) greatest movies of all time. It’s one of a handful of movies Jack Nicholson has made in the 21st Century, which lead me to believe … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Raging Bull (1980) is a movie I’m very ambivalent about. There are great things about it and there are terrible things about it. The script by Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader is great. The direction by Martin Scorsese is not great. Neither is the performance by Robert De Niro, although it is … Continue reading
By Clement Obropta A man spies on his neighbors with a pair of binoculars. He gets in his car and tails a dame across the city in the middle of the day. His nights are spent with a drink, a woman or awake in his apartment with a pistol in his hand. Many movies reference … Continue reading
By Clement Obropta Sometimes, as though only to show that they can, auteurs go to space. Stanley Kubrick had 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Christopher Nolan had Interstellar (2014), and now Claire Denis has High Life (2019). Regrettably, though it isn’t the sausage fest those perennials of science-fiction cinema are, Denis’ fantastical story of a … Continue reading
By Jonathan Cornell Avengers: Endgame (2019) is the the twenty-second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second to be released this year, after Captain Marvel (2019). An unforgettable spectacle for the ages, Endgame manages to excel as both a satisfying payoff to the universe-altering events of last year’s Avengers: Infinity War (2018) as … Continue reading
By Alex Bird Pet Sematary (2019), the second film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel of the same name, is a bit of a throwback in the current horror landscape. It aims for a place its hard to remember existed, in between the ultra-cheap franchise-driven B level, and the indie prestige horror from filmmakers like … Continue reading
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