I saw the documentary The Eyes of Tammy Faye upon its release, over twenty years ago. After a couple decades of mental erosion, I remember only one moment, but I remember it quite sharply. Unsurprisingly, it’s that exchange, in which … Continue reading Now Playing — The Eyes of Tammy Faye
As a longtime devotee of might Marvel mags, I am familiar with the Chinese hero who is known to be a master of kung fu. In the lead-up to the character making his debut on the big screen, I still … Continue reading Now Playing — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
I feel genuine sympathy for screenwriters tasked with — or even who task themselves with — providing expositional dialogue in a film with a densely complicated science-fiction premise. While there are some ready-made tactics, such as building the narrative around … Continue reading The Unwatchables — Reminiscence
During a time when he was beset by controversy — the type of phony controversy manufactured by the right wing with the relentlessness that the Hershey company brings to the production of chocolate treats, but controversy nonetheless — James Gunn … Continue reading Now Playing — The Suicide Squad
A couple films back, I read someone’s observations on the movie multiplex dominance of Marvel Entertainment. They listed off a few of the business and creative decisions that could be plausibly considered key contributors to the success of the studio … Continue reading Now Playing — Black Widow
In his new feature, No Sudden Move, Steven Soderbergh follows the most fundamental rules of modern film noir. The film takes place in a mid-century era of the American past, at roughly the same time when classic Hollywood film noirs … Continue reading Now Playing — No Sudden Move
Plan B (Natalie Morales, 2021). To invoke the movie algebra that feels inescapable in this instance, the second feature directed by Natalie Morales is Never Rarely Sometimes Always put into a polynomial equation with Booksmart to solve for the x … Continue reading Then Playing — Plan B; This Is the Sea; Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
In The Tomorrow War, Chris Pratt plays Dan Forester, a former military man who has settled into a cozy domestic life, teaching high school biology and hosting bustling holiday gatherings where he and his immediately family ignore all their guests … Continue reading Now Playing — The Tomorrow War
Years before Lin-Manuel Miranda cemented his place in the pantheon of musical theater by creating an unlikely sensation with the adaptation of a weighty historical biography, he worked with playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes to tell a story that took place … Continue reading Now Playing — In the Heights
I argue, with some regularity, that modern Hollywood horror films falter in large part because they don’t take their scenarios seriously. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It has me thinking I might be wrong about that. The new … Continue reading Now Playing — The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
