FrightFest 2023: ‘Cobweb’ Tells a Story Trapped Within Itself
If we listen closely enough to the knocking on the wall, we can hear the anguished whispers of a stronger story caught in the web of Cobweb’s weaker one.
film review
‘Between Two Worlds’ Traverses Class Issues with Privileged Ease
Between Two Worlds critiques third-party storytelling as working-class exploitation.
Dirk Bogarde Disturbs and Fascinates in ‘The Servant’
Once possessing a genially handsome face, Dirk Bogarde cut a daring figure in The Servant‘s darker material, which readily accommodated his increasingly aged and weathered looks.
‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Doesn’t Dig Very Deep
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny should have taken a thoughtful approach to Harrison Ford’s aged hero, as James Mangold did in the superior Logan.
Enigmatic and Emotional ‘Three Colors’ Is a Hypnotic Triptych of Polish Cinema
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colors – Blue, White, and Red – are grand reminders of the little motions that gather slowly but surely, to deliver the quick, sudden turns that give even the most indolent life meaning.
Love Tragic and Stars’ Magic in Crime Drama ‘Martin Roumagnac’
Despite starring Marlene Dietrich and Jean Gabin, Georges Lacombe’s 1946 crime drama, Martin Roumagnac isn’t famous or appreciated as it should be.
Unpredictable Crime Drama ‘Rio’ Is Glamorous and Treacherous
Rio belongs to no single genre but exists in its own world of Hollywood tomfoolery while reflecting the unsettled zeitgeist of a non-American world that’s glamorous and treacherous.
Duras, Marguerite Duras: Two 1970s Musings from the Cinematic Mist
The women in Marguerite Duras’ India Song and Baxter, Vera Baxter present images and rumors to the world but retain a core of adamantine mystery.
‘Evil Dead Rise’ Brings New Life to the Dead Series
Lee Cronin’s take on the Evil Dead series, Evil Dead Rise, has become a mirror image of its own horror by refusing to take its final breath.
György Fehér’s Brooding Hungarian Film ‘Twilight’
To some extent, György Fehér’s murder mystery, Twilight feels like a brooding film about Communist hangover, about an inability to breathe.
Sundance 2022: Drama ‘Palm Trees and Power Lines’ Has a Conscience
Drama Palm Trees and Power Lines is a disquieting, powerful, and mature feature debut that explores the formation of trauma and how vulnerability is exploited.
Sundance 2022: ‘Descendant’ and the Americans Who Refuse to Be Forgotten
Descendant films the stories from the progeny of the slaves of the Clotilda. The result is a testament to the spirit of a community that refuses to disappear.