The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg, 2019). Drawing heavily from her own experiences, Joanna Hogg crafts a film that captures the slippery ways problematic relationships become prisons of the participants’ own making. A student filmmaker named Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) falls into … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — The Souvenir; Atlantics; Long Shot
Marriage Story begins with Charlie (Adam Driver) listing the things he most appreciates about Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). Then it’s Nicole’s turn. She recites Charlie’s most admirable attributes. In each instance, a montage plays out against the voiceover, showing mundane moments … Continue reading Now Playing — Marriage Story
I’m fairly confident Rian Johnson considers himself a traditionalist, in defiance of any evidence to the contrary. Beginning with his first feature, Brick, Johnson settled into a mode of taking a well-worn, largely bygone subgenre and spinning it around until … Continue reading Now Playing — Knives Out
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Conceding that the most recent weekend’s box office results provide further proof that repetitive familiarity breeds riches … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Knives Out, “Ode to the Murder Mystery”
The Fugitive (John Ford, 1947). This drama resulted from an innovation production mounted in Mexico. In collaboration with the country’s largest production facility and using a crew mostly made up of local residents, director John Ford relates the story of … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — The Fugitive; Little; The Odd Couple
I once had a chance to meet Mr. Rogers and I blew it. Nearly twenty years ago, I got a job at Rollins College, Fred Rogers’s alma mater, location in Central Florida. Rogers was visiting campus, dropping in on a … Continue reading Now Playing — A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate the day! Continue reading Happy Thanksgiffing!
Early Summer (Yasujirō Ozu, 1951). The middle entry in the set known as Yasujirō Ozu’s “Noriko trilogy,” Early Summer settles in with a Japanese family and the acquaintances that move in and out of their sphere. The film is about … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Early Summer; Ex-Lady; So Big
Almost thirty years ago, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas was released into theaters. In contrast to the common perception, the 1990 masterwork was the filmmaker’s first real storytelling dalliance with the mob. Some intimidating, probably connected fellows moved around the fringes of … Continue reading Now Playing — The Irishman
#48 — Mila Kunis as Lily in Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky, 2010) When my past assertions that Mila Kunis delivers one of the strongest performances — maybe the strongest performance — in Black Swan were met with surprise of even derision, I … Continue reading Greatish Performances #48
Coffee for Two 