Nightfall (Jacques Tourneur, 1956). Peered at through the binoculars of modern retrospection, it’s nearly impossible to look at this nineteen-fifties film noir and not see Fargo in one of the lenses. The Coen brothers classic shared a lot of DNA … Continue reading Then Playing — Nightfall; Rock ‘n’ Roll High School; The Long Good Friday
Reviews of the comedy that ended Elaine May’s directing career, a weak drama with a fine Emma Thompson performance, and a documentary about Linda Ronstadt. Continue reading Then Playing — Ishtar; The Children Act; Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Reviews of films directed by Emerald Fennell, Elaine May, and Jack Smight. Continue reading Then Playing — Saltburn; A New Leaf; Kaleidoscope
Reviews of films directed by Colm Bairéad, Daniel Goldhaber, and Cord Jefferson.
Continue reading Then Playing — The Quiet Girl; How to Blow Up a Pipeline; American Fiction
Short reviews of films by Craig Gillespie, Burt Kennedy, and William Oldroyd. Continue reading Then Playing — Dumb Money; The Good Guys and the Bad Guys; Eileen
Barry Levinson’s debut, Sam Esmail’s return to film after a run of strong TV, and a tough 50s drama from Czech auteur Hugo Haas. Continue reading Then Playing — Diner; Leave the World Behind; Pickup
Profane nuns, a complicated love triangle, and a flinty film noir. Continue reading Then Playing — The Little Hours; Passages; Where Danger Lives
Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet, 2023). At a remote home in the French Alps, a man named Samuel (Samuel Theis) is found dead atop the snow-packed ground in front of his house. The cause is clearly a plummet from … Continue reading Then Playing — Anatomy of a Fall; Tina; Remember the Night
Stamped from the Beginning (Roger Ross Williams, 2023). Somewhat adapted from and somewhat inspired by Ibram X Kendi’s book of the same name, this documentary by Roger Ross Williams pointedly traces the creation and enforcement of racial identity as a … Continue reading Then Playing — Stamped from the Beginning; Bell, Book and Candle; Rustin
The Killer (David Fincher, 2023). Following the prestige passion project Mank, David Fincher returns to the sort of glossy pulp that seems to most stir his cinematic heart. The Killer focuses on a hitman (Michael Fassbender) whose previously perfect professional … Continue reading Then Playing — The Killer; Maestro; Poor Things
Coffee for Two 