Then Playing — The Quiet Girl; How to Blow Up a Pipeline; American Fiction
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
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
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Sam Fell, 2023). The first Chicken Run, which was also the first feature-length outing for Aardman Animation, was released almost a quarter-century ago. Of course, clay doesn’t really age, so, sure, why not circle … Continue reading Then Playing — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; American Symphony; I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes
The Main Event (Howard Zieff, 1979). Barbra Streisand stars as Hillary Kramer, the owner of a major perfume corporation who goes bust after her accountant embezzles all of her money and absconds to South America. One of the only assets … Continue reading Then Playing — The Main Event; A Thousand and One; Black Angel
Ladies of the Chorus (Phil Karlson, 1949). This backstage drama about burlesque performers is pedestrian in its most basic particulars, but it has just enough flinty spirit to keep it interesting. Peggy Martin (Marilyn Monroe) is a performer who rises … Continue reading Then Playing — Ladies of the Chorus; Paris, Texas; Reality