The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, 2019)
Couldn't finish it; made it just over an hour in.
In a discussion on Twitter, a number of folks whose opinions I really respect (S...
2020-01-26 23:18:23 +0000 UTC View Post
msicism activity
Frankie (Ira Sachs, 2019)
Whether by design or simply lackluster writing and directing, Ira Sachs' latest film demonstrates how people can respond to dramatic life changes in ways that are not particularly interesting. Perhaps th...
2020-01-25 03:32:18 +0000 UTC View PostSorry We Missed You (Ken Loach, 2019)
What exactly are Ken Loach's films for? I don't pose this question as a dismissal, because I actually admire them quite a bit, even if they usually don't come together as well as I'd like. But I am genui...
2020-01-23 22:25:44 +0000 UTC View PostIn Fabric (Peter Strickland, 2018)
I feel a bit like Jason Bateman in that scene from Arrested Development when he opens the bag in the fridge labelled "DEAD DOVE - DO NOT EAT." I don't know what I expected. It's a haunted-dress ...
2020-01-16 01:32:28 +0000 UTC View PostWell All Right, Okay, You Win!
So yes, I got the message! Thanks for voting.
I will be viewing (in order), In Fabric, Us, The Lighthouse, and time permitting, Midsommar.
It may take me a...
2020-01-13 05:08:12 +0000 UTC View PostClosing the Book on 2019
Of course I will still be catching up on 2019 films being released in 2020, and undistributed films that I have not yet gotten around to yet, and that sort of stuff. But I am pretty much finishing up wit...
2020-01-11 07:39:15 +0000 UTC View PostPortrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
It's really just a sort of lesbian Merchant-Ivory effort, and that's fine.
2020-01-10 04:15:45 +0000 UTC View PostPaddling Their Own Canoes
Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019)
I have to give Gerwig credit. I would not necessarily have thought that another rendition of Louisa May Alcott's populist classic was worth bother...
2020-01-10 03:45:56 +0000 UTC View PostA Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, 2019)
Terrence Malick has always been a more spiritual filmmaker than a political one, but changing times bring out unexpected facets in those we think we know well. A Hidden Life is essentially about...
2020-01-09 17:13:27 +0000 UTC View PostEnd-of-the-Year Ketchup
I had to watch a lot of films in a short amount of time, and not all of them stuck in my memory in any profound way. Some of them don't really merit a full review, and need to just be dealt with. My apologies for this rather mercenary TCB mode.
2020-01-05 04:30:13 +0000 UTC
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Vitalina Varela (Pedro Costa, 2019)
Quite possibly the film least amenable to watching on a screener, particularly during the year-end crunch, Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela nevertheless made a significant impact. I will n...
2019-12-31 00:30:55 +0000 UTC View PostPlasticity of Forms
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn, 2019)
Premised on the aftermath of an unexpected meeting on a Vancouver street, Th...
2019-12-30 23:39:28 +0000 UTC View PostJoan of Arc (Bruno Dumont, 2019)
The story of Joan of Arc is a standard of the repertoire, the French cinema equivalent of Beethoven's Ninth. It has been performed so many times by so many different people that everyone knows it by hear...
2019-12-27 21:06:18 +0000 UTC View PostStrict Machines
For year-end consideration, a couple of films that are built to do a particular job, and do it quite well. They are not especially resonant, in part because their subtext is installed right into the film's hardware. There is not a great deal of speculation as to what these films "mean," since the...
2019-12-26 20:36:09 +0000 UTC View PostBacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, 2019)
A relentlessly "interesting" film, Bacurau is a bit of a disappointment nevertheless. Mendonça's previous film, Aquarius, is one of my top films of the decade, so admittedly that would...
2019-12-23 20:29:47 +0000 UTC View PostTwitter: the ban is permanent.
I am not sure what would be worse: thinking that no human actually reviewed my appeal, and that this is just a computer spitting out boilerplate; or the idea that someone(s) in the corporation thinks it'...
2019-12-23 00:05:41 +0000 UTC View PostFire Will Come (Oliver Laxe, 2019)
Do I need to hand in my Cinephile Card? I found Fire Will Come to be the single most pointless film I have seen all year. Oliver Laxe and cinematographer Mauro Herce (himself a noteworthy direct...
2019-12-22 03:41:05 +0000 UTC View PostTwo from Cannes: Mezzo-Mezzo
It Must Be Heaven (Elia Suleiman, 2019)
In this corner, a film I didn't like quite as much as I expected to. Looking back, I believe that I have been less and less engaged in Elia ...
2019-12-21 20:22:15 +0000 UTC View PostThank you, and blessed be.
As Christmas and Hannukah approach, I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your support. Not just monetarily, either. 2019 has been a weird year, with its fair share of stressors. I have ...
2019-12-21 19:24:32 +0000 UTC View PostI Heard You, The Irishman, Paint Houses (Martin Scorsese, 2019)
An irreproachable effort, really. I found the film engaging, if not captivating, from start to finish, even if quite a lot of it -- particularly the rise of Frank Sheenan (Robert DeNiro) through the rank...
2019-12-20 17:14:24 +0000 UTC View PostAd Astra (James Gray, 2019)
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing ...
2019-12-20 05:26:41 +0000 UTC View PostQueen & Slim (Melina Matsoukas, 2019)
"Isn't this kind of a black Thelma & Louise?" my wife Jen asked as we were about halfway through Queen & Slim, and I couldn't really refute the idea. Like that overrated "femini...
2019-12-17 23:43:38 +0000 UTC View PostMy Twitter Has Been Suspended, Maybe Permanently.
According to the email I received, my account was suspended for hate speech. Yeah. Sure. Makes sense.
UPDATE: I am still waiting for a reply to my appeal. The official notice I received from Twitte...
2019-12-16 23:45:17 +0000 UTC View PostDark Waters (Todd Haynes, 2019)
In certain respects, Dark Waters occupies the place in Todd Haynes' filmography that something like Milk occupies in Gus Van Sant's. That's to say, this is not on par with a no-personal...
2019-12-15 19:10:36 +0000 UTC View PostOnce Upon a Time...in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
I have to say, I'm pleased to have missed out on The Discourse on this one. It was partly accidental, because I simply didn't have time to see it. But it was a choice as well. Folks scramble to opine abo...
2019-12-13 23:44:00 +0000 UTC View PostLittle Joe (Jessica Hausner, 2019)
From its Cannes debut right up to its current U.S. commercial release, Jessica Hausner's English-language debut Little Joe has been leaving many critics ice cold. And it seems that part of the p...
2019-12-12 12:03:57 +0000 UTC View PostFootprints: a Christmas Message
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene, I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footpri...
2019-12-07 16:14:50 +0000 UTC View PostDaddy Issues
Trouble (Mariah Garnett, 2019)
The feature debut from experimental filmmaker Mariah Garnett falls squarely within a burgeoning new tradition in cinematic autoethnography, and in th...
2019-12-04 21:31:44 +0000 UTC View PostWaves (Trey Edward Shults, 2019)
It's only fitting, I suppose, that I am stuck illustrating my review with the "official" stills that A24 is willing to place into circulation. (I tried taking screenshots from the DVD screener, and they ...
2019-12-04 04:59:50 +0000 UTC View PostI am that man.
A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit he is that man.
...
2019-11-29 02:23:22 +0000 UTC View Post