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
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
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
In the early nineteen-sixties, Ford Motor Company took a run at propping up their cultural cachet through the acquisition of Italian automaker Ferrari, renowned for their sleek sports cars, including the vehicles that famously dominated the yearly twenty-four endurance race … Continue reading Now Playing — Ford v Ferrari
Greta (Neil Jordan, 2019). Neil Jordan’s first feature film in six years is a trashy, inane thriller that’s miles removed from his best work. Except for the requisite appearance by Stephen Rea, it doesn’t even bear much resemblance to the … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Greta; A Warm December; Veronika Voss
Okay, let’s start with Hitler. Taika Waititi’s new film, Jojo Rabbit, is built around a conceit that’s basically a sick joke dramatized. In Germany, as the end of World War II looms, a ten-year-old named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is … Continue reading Now Playing — Jojo Rabbit
At the beginning of Parasite, the new film from director Bong Joon-ho, the Kim family is so far down on the economic ladder that they’re literally underground. Their cramped, cluttered apartment is in the basement of a South Korean urban … Continue reading Now Playing — Parasite
Aquaman (James Wan, 2018). The relatively cinematic merits, or lack thereof, of Marvel Studios’ blockbuster epics has been a mostly mortifying public debate in recent weeks, evidently requiring every director of note to weigh in. While the fact that Martin … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Aquaman; Dolemite Is My Name; Green Room
Hagazussa (Lukas Feigelfeld, 2019). An oily stew of a movie that has some aromas familiar from Robert Eggers’s The Witch, this German horror film is set in the verdant, unforgiving mountain in the fifteenth century. An odd, withdrawn woman named Albrun (Aleksandra Cwen) … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Hagazussa; The Whip Hand; Gloria Bell
Coffee for Two 