The instigating action of the plot is so small and unassuming that it almost seems like a cheerful memory rather than a cinematic plot point. A little bear named Paddington (voiced marvelously by Ben Whishaw) longs to purchase a vintage … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2018 — Number Nine
A few days after the annual Oscar nominations announcement is still a time of bliss, when justice is possible. No matter how many personal favorites have been overlooked, there inevitably remain contenders imbued with uncommon cinematic beauty. Maybe those creative … Continue reading From the Archive — Brokeback Mountain
Ari Aster brings a scalding intensity to his feature directorial debut, Hereditary. Unmistakably a horror film — in its nightmarish imagery, in its tone, in its unapologetic embrace of the gruesome — Hereditary is presented with a psychological acuity that is … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2018 — Number Ten
The Oscar nominations arrived yesterday, and with them comes my own timed-release survey of the best the recently closed cinematic year had to offer. I begin with my customary caveat: Much as I’d like to be comprehensive and timely in … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2018 — An Introduction
It’s been a notably rocky year for the the most hallowed of entertainment honors, so it’s fitting that the announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominees was a mix of the woefully predictable with gleaming bursts of the daring. In … Continue reading Popularity Contest — Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations
Shirkers (Sandi Tan, 2018). This documentary traces a guerilla attempt at filmmaking by a group of teenagers and their somewhat skeevy teacher in Singapore, in the early nineteen-nineties. Essentially a cinematic memoir of embitterment and gradual self-discovery by Sandi Tan, … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Shirkers; I Feel Pretty; First Reformed
The brevity of this review reflects its placement as part of general round-up of new releases I wrote for The Pointer, the student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. It’s highly questionable as to whether or not … Continue reading From the Archive — FernGully: The Last Rainforest
Andre the Giant (Jason Hehir, 2018). A veteran of ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries, Jason Hehir brings a studious steadiness to this recounting of the life and career of the professional wrestler born André René Roussimoff. … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Andre the Giant; The Wife; Life of the Party
James Baldwin published If Beale Street Could Talk, his fifth novel, in 1974. In the new film adaptation, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, the action takes place in the era of the book, but there’s a fierce modernity to … Continue reading Now Playing — If Beale Street Could Talk
Rampage (Brad Peyton, 2018). I fully understand the wisdom in calibrating expectations accordingly for a movie adaptation of a 1986 video game that was little more than giant monsters knocking down buildings. Basic coherence isn’t too much to ask for, … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Rampage; What’s Up, Doc?; River of No Return
Coffee for Two 