Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, 1951). A feat of cinematic austerity, this French drama follows a youthful man of the cloth (Claude Laydu) as he struggles presiding over a rural parish populated by congregants who dismiss him or … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Diary of a Country Priest; Pacific Rim: Uprising; The Rider
Burning begins as a young man name Jongsu (Ah-in Yoo) makes his way through a busy Seoul street. Outside of one of the storefronts, two women are hyping the business to the crowd, and one of them, Haemi (Jong-seo Jun), … Continue reading Now Playing — Burning
Z for Zachariah (Craig Zobel, 2015). Based on a Robert C. O’Brien science fiction novel published in the nineteen-seventies, Z for Zachariah takes a somber approach to post-apocalyptic storytelling. Ann Burden (Margot Robbie) is living alone on a farm, maintaining … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Z for Zachariah; These Wilder Years; The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
There were many reasons to celebrate Creed, led by Michael B. Jordan’s exemplary performance as second generation professional boxer Adonis Johnson, who would eventually overcome emotional-fueled reluctance claim the name of his departed father. The other aspect of the film … Continue reading Now Playing — Creed II
A fantastic article published this week addressed the dilemma that is Lena Dunham. A heralded new voice when her HBO show Girls premiered, Dunham has become one of those creators whose public persona inevitably — and, for many, damagingly — … Continue reading From the Archive — Tiny Furniture
Arriving five years after director Steve McQueen took 12 Years a Slave to the top prize at the Academy Awards, Widows is a curious follow-up. It’s not simply that it doesn’t have the heft (in its basics, anyway) as the … Continue reading Now Playing — Widows
The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles, 2018). Nearly fifty years after Orson Welles shot its first footage and over thirty years since the master filmmaker’s death, The Other Side of the Wind finally sees release. Completed by a … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — The Other Side of the Wind; Three Identical Strangers; All the Money in the World
With the news this week that Moulin Rouge! The Musical is officially coming to Broadway (hardly an unexpected turn after its Boston tryout largely drew raves), I found myself wondering if Baz Luhrmann is done with director feature films, ready to simply shovel dollars into his bank account from the revival of his greatest success. It’s been five years since he made The Great Gatsby, and there have been few signs of a follow-up. Of course, Luhrmann takes his time. His adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great American Novel arrived five years after its predecessor, a bumbled epic depiction of … Continue reading From the Archive — Australia
#40 — Katie Holmes as April Burns in Pieces of April (Peter Hedges, 2003) There’s a passage of young adulthood that I find is rarely captured with accuracy and empathy in cinema. There’s an endless supply of teenagers navigating the … Continue reading Greatish Performances #40
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (Jim Hosking, 2018). I’m sure there’s an easier, more lucrative career path to follow than the road chosen by Aubrey Plaza since the end of Parks and Recreation, which makes her spirited commitment to … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn; Straight Outta Compton; Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Coffee for Two 