Welcome to the third part in our miniseries on the 2021 Documentary Feature shortlist. You can find the recaps for Part 1 and Part 2 in their accompanying links, and as previously mentioned, I have individual reviews for Summer of Soul, The Rescue, and Flee. Today's installment will bring us up to 12 on this … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – I’ve Got a Little List, Part 3
"I'm scared," gasps Penélope Cruz while on a stakeout for a terrorist spy around the start of Act II in Simon Kinberg's The 355. "That's good," replies Diane Kruger. "Only idiots aren't scared." Well, if that's the case, I must be an idiot, because I certainly wasn't scared at all during this overlong parade of … Continue reading Spy Lame – The 355
The worst year ever... since the one before it, is finally over, and today, we officially begin our journey through the 2022 canon of cinema (even though the book is not yet closed on 2021). Unfortunately, it's only January, a bleak, cold month where the days are darkest and spirits tank after the highs of … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – January 2022
The calendar has finally turned over, and of course, because we just can't have nice things, the universe decided to take Betty White out at the last fucking minute. But anyway, the official book has closed on 2021, a year where we almost, kinda, sort of got back to something resembling normal, only for the … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2021
The "Best Actress Showcase" film is a common thing during Awards Season, typically in the form of a story uniquely suited to a female lead character, and often cast and shot in a way that heavily features the top line actress in an attempt to garner some hardware at the expense of everything else. It's … Continue reading The Parent Trap – The Lost Daughter
Tis a tale oft told, that makers hath rolled,One twelfth of a gross, through celluloid's Globe,By Welles and Roman, nearly of Laurence,Now a Coen alone doth enter the fray.To speak evermore of the killer Thane,Who's play is too superstitious to name,The Tragedy of Macbeth goes to screen.But what more can be said? What news? What … Continue reading A Soliloquy – The Tragedy of Macbeth
When I reviewed The Trial of the Chicago 7 last year, I made note of a lot of the creative hallmarks of Aaron Sorkin's career, both positive and negative. But there was one element I left out of the equation, mostly because it wasn't relevant to that particular film. He has a somewhat elitist penchant … Continue reading WAAAAHHHH! – Being the Ricardos
The history of the Matrix franchise is a fraught one, with tremendous highs and cavernous lows. In a series that delighted in how much its story could be bathed in biblical overtones, it in itself became a cautionary tale hewing closer to Greek tragedy due to the Wachowski (then) Brothers' unchecked ambition, trying to cram … Continue reading You Have No Choice – The Matrix Resurrections
The coming-of-age film is certainly nothing new. It's a well-worn bit of storytelling that can very easily fall into the trappings of cliché, but depending on your sensibilities, even the most tired moments can work because they ring true for the audience either hitting that point in their lives or reminiscing about bygone eras. Even … Continue reading I’m Gonna Run to You – Licorice Pizza
One of my favorite films of all time is the 1932 pre-Code horror film, Freaks. Like many of the great "monster" movies of the age, the film succeeds because of its very sympathetic treatment of the carnival workers that make up the bulk of its cast, asking the crucial, "Who is the real monster?" question … Continue reading Can You Read My Mind? – Nightmare Alley
