Tuesday, April 2 2013
This Wasn’t It: ‘Moscow Case 1993: When the King of Pop Met the Soviets’
Having no footage of the 1993 Moscow concert, part of the Dangerous tour, to speak of, Trubnikoff can hardly concern himself with conveying quite what it was like to attend the show.
The Handsome and the Stupid: ‘The Tartars’
Orson Welles and Victor Mature grumble and sneer while their nations go to hell in a horseblanket.
Monday, April 1 2013
‘Reality Kills’: The Slasher Movie Gets House-Broken
This attempt to cross The Toolbox Murders with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is every bit as bad, but not nearly as funny, as it sounds.
Friday, March 29 2013
A History Unchallenged: ‘Lincoln’
Despite its considerable credentials, Lincoln avoids succumbing to the requisite Spielberg traps—save for a key few. What's interesting, and a little bit disturbing, is how procedurally it treats a sensitive topic like the passage of the 13th Amendment.
Straightforward and Brutal: ‘On the Waterfront’
This is Elia Kazan’s greatest achievement as a visual artist, and yet it can’t help but feel like an act of cowardice, making this a fascinating film in terms of how its personal effects always overshadow its artistic achievements.
Fritz Lang’s ‘Ministry of Fear’ Offers a Dreamworld that Challenges Reality
Fritz Lang's distinctive visual style and questions of reality and false appearances ensnare the viewer in a tangled nightmarish web of imagery.
Thursday, March 28 2013
Please, Love Me Do: Michael Haneke’s ‘Amour’
Terrence Malick’s Disturbing and Darkly Funny ‘Badlands’
Badlands isn't just or even mostly a disturbing, disorienting experience. It's almost certainly Terrence Malick's darkly funniest movie, with Kit's weird, deadpan conviction and the couple's childlike innocence.
Edmund Gwenn, Character Extraordinaire in ‘Apartment for Peggy’ and ‘Mister 880’
These two new on-demand releases from Fox Cinema Archives showcase an excellent, magnetic character actor named Edmund Gwenn, best known for playing a certain bearded gentleman in Miracle on 34th Street.
‘Earth’s Final Hours’ Kind of Blows
This made-for-TV filler from SyFy fails to impress. But it's not because of the acting, the special effects, or even the ridiculous plot.
Wednesday, March 27 2013
Twilight’s Last Gleaming: ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’ Parts 1 & 2
The Twilight universe is ruled by a curious strain of American morality that can be described as “bloody puritan”. Decapitations = Yes, Premarital Sex = No.
Get Thee to a Nunnally? ‘Wife, Husband and Friend’ & ‘Oh, Men! Oh, Women!’
In keeping with sexist standards, the women in these bouts are typically flighty, illogical, and "feminine" to the point of being tiresome, and yet the blustering men eventually realize they have a point and need to stop blustering.
Tuesday, March 26 2013
The Actors are Empowered to Make the Performances Their Own in ‘Les Misérables’
Live singing embodies the performances with a certain amount of honesty that isn't afforded to the casts of other movie musicals.
Transgressive Sexuality and Slimy Creatures ‘From Beyond (Collector’s Edition)’
Except for the squeamish and the virtuous, everybody else should be able to enjoy this depiction of those nightmarish metaphysical horrors that apparently surround our godforsaken existence.
Monday, March 25 2013
A Loud, Clear Voice Comes Through in ‘Killing Them Softly’
Bravo to Brad Pitt and Andrew Dominik for making a film that no one likes. Really.
‘Border Run’ Tries Hard but Lacks Cohesion and Depth
Rife with bad editing and overacting, Border Run fails miserably at telling a compelling story about illegal immigration.
Friday, March 22 2013
The Haunted Darkroom: Don McCullin and the Nightmare of History
This fine documentary about the preeminent war photographer of the last half-century raises difficult questions about both art and journalism.
The French Director’s Unique Voice Comes Through Loud and Clear in ‘The Claire Denis Collection’
Spanning the period between 1988-2009, these four Claire Denis films represent some of the best of the world cinema genre.
