Ecstatic Dance
by Eve TushnetAn ambitious, perfect movie about growing up in a breakable body. Continue Reading »
Sins of Their Fathers
by Alexi SargeantA new film, The Innocents, tells a moving story of healing and grace without downplaying the grief and trauma that preceded them. And it does this while addressing a moral blind spot of our popular culture. Continue Reading »
Whit Stillman among the Janeites
by Deborah YaffeHis adaptation of Lady Susan downplays a key fact: Austen’s women jockey among themselves for status and power. Men may be the prizes, but they’re not the point. Continue Reading »
A Cinematic Lesson in Hope
by George WeigelAt a moment like this when there doesn’t seem to be a lot going right—ascendant authoritarianisms throughout the world; lethal violence by ideological fanatics; feckless responses to both from the democracies—it’s good to be reminded that things can be different, and in fact were different, . . . . Continue Reading »
The Lady, Or the Lobster?
by Eve TushnetA new romantic comedy brutally satirizes our dictatorship of eros.
Terrence Malick's Openness to Life
by William Randolph BraffordTerrence Malick has baffled many of the film critics who once championed him. His detractors call his latest film, Knight of Cups, an “indecipherable mess” or “hard to parse.” A.O. Scott of the New York Times admired Malick’s Tree of Life, but now sounds as if he feels betrayed: “The deployment of beauty strikes me as more evasive than evocative.” Continue Reading »
Brush with Greatness
by John MurdockMany Beautiful Things lives up to its title. With lush visuals from the English countryside, the deserts of North Africa, and the watercolors of its subject Lilias Trotter, the latest from filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson pleases the eye while asking questions of the heart. If Trotter’s name sounds . . . . Continue Reading »
Last Year's Horror Cornucopia: Suffering in Style
by Eve TushnetLast night I watched The Final Girls, Todd Strauss-Schulson's 2015 slasher parody about mourning. It's charming, touching, and mostly successful—and a great example of the reasons 2015 specifically and the '10s generally have been such great years for horror fans.2015 was just a cornucopia of . . . . Continue Reading »
Devotio Tarantino
by David J. DavisQuentin Tarantino once said, “Movies are my religion and God is my patron,” and yet, his movies can hardly be considered religious. Tarantino’s cinematic universe is characterized by unmitigated violence, terror, and a prolific theme of human self-destruction.
Spotlight on the Vulnerable
by Philip LawlerAny major American newspaper would immediately fire a reporter who was caught using composite characters or inventing quotations for his stories. Hollywood naturally plays by different rules. A film “based on” a true story is considered acceptable; “recreated” dialogue is the norm. We expect . . . . Continue Reading »
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