Shirley MacLaine Gives Michael Caine a Lesson in Comedy Thriller ‘Gambit’
Themes of masquerades and flim-flam in the comedy thriller Gambit see Shirley MacLaine’s Nichole Chang giving Michael Caine’s Sir Harry Dean a much-needed lesson.
Film Review
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Looks Upon the Poe You Didn’t Know
Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye has Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) making an unconventional partner to Christian Bale’s 1830s sleuth.
‘Living’ Rages Ever So Properly Against the Dying of the Light
Oliver Hermanus’ Living, a faithful remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, stars Bill Nighy as a terminally ill repressed bureaucrat who realizes it’s time to rage against the dying of the light.
Hollywood Is a Helluva Drug in Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’
Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt’s characters burn the candle at both ends in Damien Chazelle’s rollicking and ridiculous epic cautionary tale, Babylon.
‘White Noise’ Is a Pop Art Fever Dream of Catastrophe and Consumerism
Noah Baumbach’s bright, funny, and nervy White Noise vividly translates Don DeLillo’s classic of mid-1980s American consumerist-medicated anxieties.
Two Important, Stylish, French New Wave Films from Jacques Doniol-Valcroze
Jacques Doniol-Valcroze’s New Wave film A Game for Six Lovers is drenched in High Culture, while La Dénonciation is high Sixties style and gripping all the way.
Real-Life 1950s Gang Busting Inspired Film Noir ‘The Turning Point’
Remastered and on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is William Dieterle’s The Turning Point, a noir film at the intersection of several crossroads in America’s early ’50s.
Royalty and the Help Do Switcheroos in Pre-Code Comedy ‘By Candlelight’
James Whale’s pre-code comedy/romance, ‘By Candelight’ is a perfect example of Depression-era escapism into Art Deco consumer porn.
What Was Paramount Smoking When It Released ‘Murder at the Vanities’?
There are wild numbers in the raunchy pre-code 1934 musical Murder at the Vanities but “Sweet Marijuana” really stirred up the uptights. Paramount shrugged.
‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ Is Among Neo-Noir’s Finest Films
Denzel Washington’s voiceover in neo-noir Devil in a Blue Dress is an equal mix of deadpan charm and wide-eyed innocence, which textures and nuances his performance.
Riveting ‘Retrograde’ Makes Warfare in Afghanistan Personal
Matthew Heineman’s dizzying documentary, Retrograde, sees the fall of Afghanistan through the eyes of one beleaguered Afghan general.
Lon Chaney Didn’t Always Need Makeup to Menace Silent Film Viewers
‘Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces, Vol. 2’ captures how he applied his darkly expressive visage, even without makeup, to menace silent film viewers.
