Murder on the Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh, 2017). This adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s most famed novels finds Kenneth Branagh in his happy showman role, both in the officiously constructed visuals and in his leading performance as detective Hercule … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Murder on the Orient Express; Roman J. Israel, Esq.; A Cure for Wellness
In the basic mechanics of its story, Baby Driver is familiar to the point of farce. There’s our hero, Baby (Ansel Elgort), referenced in the title, a young man of preternatural skill whose excursion in the seedier side of society … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Six
Clint Eastwood has a new film out. It is not being especially well-received. In general, I’ve long found the movie critic discourse around Eastwood’s directorial career to be a little perplexing. I’ve liked many of his films, including proud placement of a few on various lists of laudatory accomplishment. But to refer to Eastwood as one of the great filmmakers (I remember at least once critic, circa Mystic River, positing that Eastwood was the greatest American director then working) requires turning a blind eye to a lot of flawed material, even if one generously ignores the absolute worst efforts. I think … Continue reading From the Archive — Flags of Our Fathers
There is a truism of storytelling that I think uniquely consistent in its accuracy: Intense specificity is the key to creating a fiction that is strikingly universal. I well remember 1983, the year in which Call Me By Your Name … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Seven
From Beyond the Grave (Kevin Connor, 1974). Drawn from the horror short stories of British author Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, this anthology film from the macabre minds at Hammer Studios offer a quartet of twisty tales of supernaturally-charged comeuppance, all of them … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — From Beyond the Grave; The Family Fang; Black Mass
These days, The Washington Post is demonstrating no reluctance in their insistence on the primacy of a free and robust press in a healthy republic. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is the motto emblazoned on their masthead in a direct rebuke … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Eight
There’s a moment in the Joel and Ethan Coen’s Barton Fink that I’ve treasured since I first saw it. In the scene, John Mahoney plays W.P. Mayhew, a character seemingly modeled on William Faulkner (though the Coens deny this). Mayhew … Continue reading John Mahoney, 1940 – 2018
This old review should have really posted yesterday. Then again, Groundhog Day in repeat is somewhat fitting. This was written for The Pointer, the student newspaper at UW-Stevens Point. The minor reservation expressed in the last paragraph is baffling to … Continue reading From the Archive — Groundhog Day
Christopher Nolan is a masterful cinematic craftsman who compulsively calls attention to his own striking craft. As opposed to Steven Spielberg, his most obvious ancestor, Nolan is largely disinterested in engulfing an audience so completely in the feelings of the … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2017 — Number Nine
A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017). There’s been some chatter lately about the divide between film critics and general audiences. I thought about that quite a bit while finally catching up A Ghost Story, David Lowery’s ruminative tale of grief … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — A Ghost Story; I Am Not Your Negro; Mudbound
Coffee for Two 