Chattanooga Film Festival Journal: I Trapped the Devil
The horror genre’s subversive nature makes it a natural platform to take on some awfully big questions. I Trapped the Devil takes a long, hard look in humanity’s basement and you might not like what...
View ArticleChattanooga Film Festival Journal: Harpoon
Dark comedies often go into the darker corners of humanity, but tend to stay away from showing the implied gore and mayhem on screen. Harpoon is hilarious and not afraid to douse its laughs in buckets...
View ArticleCannes Journal: The Dead Don’t Die
Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die has all the parts to make a terrific film – a stellar cast, a smart and resilient indie director, and a cinematically literate tale about the undead that should...
View ArticleCannes Journal: Rocketman
The rise of Elton John to superstardom is indicative of much of the 1970s music industry. Rocketman is a tale of raunchiness and excess, hubris and humiliation, told many times before about many...
View ArticleCannes Journal: The Whistlers
For the last few decades, Romanian directors have been at the forefront of what’s been dubbed “slow cinema,” a kind of overtly anti-Hollywood dialing down of editorial pace and narrative precision....
View ArticleCannes Journal: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The fable-like title (an obvious allusion to Leone) and Quentin Tarantino’s track record of toying with history should give you a pretty good hint about what’s in store with his latest film. Once Upon...
View ArticleCannes Journal: The Lighthouse
Like his 2015 film The Witch, Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse feels more like a lost artifact than something newly produced. Where The Witch explored the darkness of Salem paranoia and demonic...
View ArticleCannes Journal: Matthias & Maxime
Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan returns to Cannes with Matthias & Maxime, the story of two childhood friends who long have harbored a quiet, unresolved affection for one another. Dolan of late is...
View ArticleCannes Journal: Parasite
Grifter stories are always fun, as they invite audiences to ride along with the con through its twists and turns. Bong Joon-ho has turned the genre on its head with Parasite, another of his films that...
View ArticleCannes Journal: A Brother’s Love
Monia Chokri is a Quebecois actress best known to international audiences for her role in Xavier Dolan’s 2012 film Laurence Anyways, and has followed her fellow Canadian to Cannes with her directorial...
View ArticleCannes Journal: The Shining in 4k
For three years running, Warner Bros. has promoted a new restoration as part of the “Cannes Classics” series. These screenings take place in the Debussy, the second largest (and preferred) theater of...
View ArticleCannes Journal – Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo
There’s a danger that talking about Abdellatif Kechiche’s new film somehow encourages it, similar to the fears that speaking the names of serial killers glorifies them. If any film at Cannes this year...
View ArticleChicago Critics Film Festival Journal: Pink Wall
Actor Tom Cullen’s directorial debut Pink Wall is an intimate look at the full arc of a romance. Though the characters are multi-dimensional and their energy is raw, the whole thing feels more like an...
View ArticleCannes Journal: Les Misérables (2019)
Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables is a far cry from the musical that popularized the tale of star-crossed love and political upheaval in revolutionary France. This one is more akin to a Spike Lee joint, full of...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Swallow
Capturing mental health issues on screen without victimization or exploitation may feel like a fool’s errand. Swallow is not a foolish film, and its gamble pays off handsomely. Hunter (Haley Bennett)...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Extreme Job
From South Korea, where genre mash-ups are frequently the biggest box office success of the year, comes Extreme Job, a combination of cop drama, broad comedy, and food porn that’s one of the most...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Dreamland
Hard Core Logo and Pontypool director Bruce McDonald’s latest film, Dreamland, brings vampire tropes, Lynchian surrealism, and a love of cool Jazz to audiences that may or may not be receptive to the...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Sons of Denmark
Ulaa Salim’s Sons of Denmark is a bravura, thrilling, and highly energized debut that’s evocative of filmmakers with far more experience. A story about race, culture, and the rise of Right Wing...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Critters Attack!
Measuring your expectations for the fifth entry into any horror franchise is just good common sense. Keeping low expectations for the latest Critters movie, the non-theatrically released Critters...
View ArticleFantasia Fest Journal: Phantom of Winnipeg
In December of 1974, 20th Century Fox released a film based in part on The Phantom of the Opera plus some bits of the tale of Faust and a dash of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Directed by Brian De Palma...
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