Blu-ray Review: MISSISSIPPI MASALA, A Gorgeous Restoration of a Vibrant Romantic Drama
Romantic dramas are a bit too few and far between in recent years (at least good ones); have we become too cynical in the 21st century, has the burden of existence mean we too seldom scoff at those stories who...
Review: THE INNOCENTS, Beware, Children at Play
It can often be difficult to know when to trust a child; on one hand, we want to believe that children are innocent and good, and will tell us the truth. On the other, I've known plenty of children who...
Blu-ray Review: EYIMOFE (THIS IS MY DESIRE), Intimate Lives of Quiet Longing
African filma are sorely lacking in the Criterion collection, certainly not for lack of a quality cinema. And while most cinephiles might be familiar with the term 'Nollywood', the opportunities to see films from Nigeria, or many other African nations,...
Review: THE AVIARY, The Inescapable Wilderness of the Mind
I'm normally loathe to begin a review with a dictionary definition, but I did find myself turning to Oxford on my shelf to look up the word 'cult': one of those things perhaps, like, porn, that we can't define but...
Review: STANLEYVILLE, Too Much Quirk Spoils the Proverbial Broth
I'n sure many of us have had that moment (maybe several times) when we want to throw in the towel and walk away from our lives: our jobs, our disappointing partners (and maybe kids), who just seem to be stuck...
Review: THE AUTOMAT, The Halcyon Days of Good, Cheap Food
Perhaps it's my age revealing itself, but growing up, the idea of opening a window and getting freshly prepared, hot food seemed like something out of science fiction. No person to ask for help, just see what you want, open...
Review: NIGHT'S END, Intimate Darkness and The Screen's Haunted Glow
Ken Barber is just managing to keep himself together. Two years after alcoholism ruined his marriage, he's moved to another city and shut himself in a lonely apartment. He's trying to earn a living by making life-tip videos for youtube,...
Miami 2022 Review: PARSLEY, Intimate Portrayal of a Massacre
History, sadly, is filled with massacres, and other disastrous events in which one group of humans inflicts terrible violence upon another group, for reasons that - well, it doesn't matter why. They are called massacres for a reason. And a...
Miami Film Festival: FREYA, PARSLEY Win Jury and Audience Awards
The Miami Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend, with awards given to deserving winners. It's always a treat to watch films from tge festival, with its focus on the best in Latin American cinema, and a lot of films...
Review: THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SEVEN SONGS
Directed by Pushpendra Singh, the luscious tale from India stars Shahnawaz Bhat, Sadakkit Bijran and Ranjit Khajuria.
Miami 2022 Review: IMMERSION, On the Surface, Nothing is Calm
There are many things that thriller films have taught me, and one thing is, you do not want to be stuck on a boat with strangers. Even if you have land on site, it is itself an isolated location, and...
Miami 2022 Review: THE KING OF ALL THE WORLD, Live Through the Dance
Like a few other great European auteurs who began working in the 20th century, Spain's Carlos Saura (Raise Ravens, Peppermint Frappé) has steadily worked on a film every year or two for decades. Much of his work in the past...
Miami 2022 Review: THE ART OF MAKING IT, The Code of the Art World
Like I suspect a lot of people, I have a few original art pieces, but not too many; sadly the price tag of much art work vastly outnumbers my income. But then, a piece of art is (usually) unique, and...
Miami 2022 Review: THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE, A Chorus of Anger and Longing
Cows might be one of the few animals whose 'wild' version no longer exists; now bred solely in domestication, they represent how humans have forcibly adapted the natural world for our wants, without regard to the consequences. But now the...
Miami 2022 Review: CANDELA, Nighttime brings Prophecy and Lust
Likely any town or city has a 'seedy' side - the ones filled with the dregs of society, the 'sons of bitches' who bear the brunt of cruelty and stereotyping of crime and social dejection. One could argue that, given...
Blu-ray Review: MILLER'S CROSSING, The Lonely, Existential World of Gangsters
Criterion's release of the Coen Brothers' gangster film is a worthy addition to the collection.
Review: THE LONG WALK, New Spin on Time Travel
Director Mattie Do exerts perfect precision over her story, in a film that warrants multiple viewings.
Nitehawk Shorts Fest to Feature Works by Yann Gonzalez, Alex Ross Perry, and More
Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan and champion of short films. Most filmmakers proverbially (or perhaps literally, I don't judge) cut their teeth on short films. And while they might be short in length, they're never short...
NOPE Trailer: What's a Bad Miracle?
Jordan Peele, you sly fellow, dropping a trailer at midnight on a Saturday? Sly, and damn clever for those of us who are up late on the west coat, or have insomnia and check our phones in the middle of...
Review: PARALLEL MOTHERS, Families Forged and Lies Exposed
What makes a family, and what binds us to family, both in our lifetimes and with the generations before us? How important is biological connection, and how important is it to know what happened in the past? Can the truth...
