history
The Outpost
The Outpost tells the true story of the bloody fall of a remote US army base in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains. It suffers from problems common to many patriotic war dramas. While the there-but-for-the-grace-of-god moments of mortal terror and nope-not-for-me
The Outpost
The Outpost tells the true story of the bloody fall of a remote US army base in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains. It suffers from problems common to many patriotic war dramas. While the there-but-for-the-grace-of-god moments of mortal terror and nope-not-for-me
Miles Ahead
For the 100 minutes of this film’s running time, Miles Davis is taking no shit from nobody. Don Cheadle’s invocation of Miles is mad, bad and dangerous to know, as Ewan MacGregor’s desperate-for-a-scoop Rolling Stone reporter discovers. Even bullets are
Miles Ahead
For the 100 minutes of this film’s running time, Miles Davis is taking no shit from nobody. Don Cheadle’s invocation of Miles is mad, bad and dangerous to know, as Ewan MacGregor’s desperate-for-a-scoop Rolling Stone reporter discovers. Even bullets are
Jimi: All Is by My Side
Interesting, if frustrating. Seeming unable to pull a narrative from elsewhere the story spends most of its time on Jimi’s girlfriends and, by all reports, does them a disservice. Andre Benjamin’s voicing of Jimi is startlingly good but he’s playing someone
Jimi: All Is by My Side
Interesting, if frustrating. Seeming unable to pull a narrative from elsewhere the story spends most of its time on Jimi’s girlfriends and, by all reports, does them a disservice. Andre Benjamin’s voicing of Jimi is startlingly good but he’s playing someone
Steve Jobs
Screenwriters can be typecast, just like actors. With Steve Jobs, Aaron Sorkin cements his reputation as the go-to guy for stories about brilliant young men with personality issues – flawed, obnoxious but dazzling wunderkinds who could, might, or in Jobs’s case actually did
Steve Jobs
Screenwriters can be typecast, just like actors. With Steve Jobs, Aaron Sorkin cements his reputation as the go-to guy for stories about brilliant young men with personality issues – flawed, obnoxious but dazzling wunderkinds who could, might, or in Jobs’s case actually did
Jodorowsky’s Dune
In this epic yarn, the filmic equivalent of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Alejandro Jodorowsky, wild-eyed, possessed, regales us with the story of his five year mission to bring Frank Herbert’s Dune to the screen. It’s an extraordinary chronicle of
Jodorowsky’s Dune
In this epic yarn, the filmic equivalent of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Alejandro Jodorowsky, wild-eyed, possessed, regales us with the story of his five year mission to bring Frank Herbert’s Dune to the screen. It’s an extraordinary chronicle of
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coens tell a story of the man who would not be Bob Dylan with such relentless unapologetic deflation that it actually feels like something out of the end of the sixties, like Midnight Cowboy or Medium Cool or Easy Rider (all
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coens tell a story of the man who would not be Bob Dylan with such relentless unapologetic deflation that it actually feels like something out of the end of the sixties, like Midnight Cowboy or Medium Cool or Easy Rider (all
Pandora’s Promise
This unabashedly pro-nuclear documentary makes a good case, or rather an already well established case, that we need to find, by yesterday, a viable alternative to fossil fuels given the current dangers to human survival presented by combustion power. The
Pandora’s Promise
This unabashedly pro-nuclear documentary makes a good case, or rather an already well established case, that we need to find, by yesterday, a viable alternative to fossil fuels given the current dangers to human survival presented by combustion power. The
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
This devotional piece from Martin Scorcese (based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis) wavers between inspired moments of heresy and long stretches of being just another Jesus movie. While in its way wholly respectful to the prophets, it disrespects sacred
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
This devotional piece from Martin Scorcese (based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis) wavers between inspired moments of heresy and long stretches of being just another Jesus movie. While in its way wholly respectful to the prophets, it disrespects sacred
Zero Dark Thirty
How should Hollywood approach real world stories about black ops, geopolitical espionage and covert vested interests, around which whirl clouds of doubt and conspiracy? According to Zero Dark Thirty, you tell something close to the official story and let it
Zero Dark Thirty
How should Hollywood approach real world stories about black ops, geopolitical espionage and covert vested interests, around which whirl clouds of doubt and conspiracy? According to Zero Dark Thirty, you tell something close to the official story and let it
Grey Gardens (2009)
Thankfully not the grotesque vanity project one might have feared, this unflinching yet respectful biopic offers some worthwhile context and understanding of the Beales phenomenon, even if Barrymore and Lange’s evocation of the two Edies can never hope to entirely
Grey Gardens (2009)
Thankfully not the grotesque vanity project one might have feared, this unflinching yet respectful biopic offers some worthwhile context and understanding of the Beales phenomenon, even if Barrymore and Lange’s evocation of the two Edies can never hope to entirely
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
On The Road
Kerouac’s tale of his friendship with Neil Cassady (nee Dean Moriarty) plays like a journey of the apostles, as a lost tribe of disaffected youths pursue this charismatic narcissist back and forth across America. Rarely does a film let you
The Master
This is a masterfully crafted example of whatever it is. There’s some controversy regarding whether it’s really just a litigation-proofed L. Ron Hubbard:The Early Years, but if it’s not, then what is it? At face value, there isn’t nearly enough
The Master
This is a masterfully crafted example of whatever it is. There’s some controversy regarding whether it’s really just a litigation-proofed L. Ron Hubbard:The Early Years, but if it’s not, then what is it? At face value, there isn’t nearly enough
Argo
A useful writer’s lesson in how suspense is created. If you separate the true story from the invented fictional overlays you’ll find in one hand a finely crafted collection of reversals, all is lost moments, narrow escapes and races against
Argo
A useful writer’s lesson in how suspense is created. If you separate the true story from the invented fictional overlays you’ll find in one hand a finely crafted collection of reversals, all is lost moments, narrow escapes and races against
Lore
Cate Shortland reprises the themes of her previous feature Somersault with another tale about another girl who came down in the last shower, a hard rain that dumps her unarmed into a world corrupted. In Somersault, Abbie Cornish’s performance as
Lore
Cate Shortland reprises the themes of her previous feature Somersault with another tale about another girl who came down in the last shower, a hard rain that dumps her unarmed into a world corrupted. In Somersault, Abbie Cornish’s performance as
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
The literally sprawling epic that made cinema history for all the wrong reasons, raping the coffers of United Artists so resoundingly it made directorial freedom look like a bad thing. Rightly pariahed for its indulgences and cavalier discipline, Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
The literally sprawling epic that made cinema history for all the wrong reasons, raping the coffers of United Artists so resoundingly it made directorial freedom look like a bad thing. Rightly pariahed for its indulgences and cavalier discipline, Heaven’s Gate
Margin Call
Still wondering where all the money went? A lot of it was never really there. And then there weren’t enough chairs when the music stopped. It’s a story that deserves half a dozen tellings and probably the first movie I’ve
Margin Call
Still wondering where all the money went? A lot of it was never really there. And then there weren’t enough chairs when the music stopped. It’s a story that deserves half a dozen tellings and probably the first movie I’ve
The Help
Has there been a bad film about the US civil rights movement? The most self critiical nation on earth once again finds its terrible race karma a bottomless wellspring of pungent narrative. Does amply what it sets out to do