One of the simplest points that can be made about “Darkest Hour” is that it portrays the flip side of this summer’s “Dunkirk.” You could cut the two movies together — the horrifying beaches from one, the brooding before a war-room map from the other — into a piece of Oscar bait that would feel […]
Category Archives: Written Reviews
The Director Has No Clothes
If you’ve seen “The Room,” you know it transcends the filmic category of “so bad it’s good.” There’s a sense of tragedy, ambition, and madness all bubbling somewhere in that 2003 cult phenomenon, a phenomenon celebrated and investigated by James Franco’s new drama/comedy, “The Disaster Artist.” This week, with the help of film critic and […]
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Who has the best stare in the movies? Nicole Kidman’s leaps to mind. She looks through her co-stars (Colin Farrell twice this year, like he was a smudged window) as if to say, “Not only do I not trust you, I own you.” Charlize Theron is close behind when it comes to looks that drill […]
Reeled In: “Lady Bird”
On this new mini-episode, Noah and Chance discuss “Lady Bird,” the witty and affecting new film portrait of a teenage girl’s last lap around Catholic high school in 2002 Sacramento. The directorial debut from Greta Gerwig has garnered near-universal acclaim, and we add our voices to that choir, praising the film’s accessible star performance and […]
“Suburbicon” / “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
For those who fondly remember last year’s The Lobster for its high concept and array of deadpan dialogue, you’re likely recalling the film’s first half. That’s the introduction of an emotionally impotent Colin Farrell into the film’s premise of mandatory coupling (with the one way out, of course). Acclimating to the rules of this universe, […]
“The Snowman”
There are several moments at which one might realize The Snowman is a special sort of bad movie, that it belongs to a strain of ineptitude rarely bought for $35 million these days. One might realize this when — after 45 minutes of piecing together the titular serial killer’s seemingly ideological motivation for dismembering several […]
“Blade Runner 2049”
Reaction time is a factor in this so please pay attention. Answer as quickly as you can. Are the best parts ‘Blade Runner’ mythos or idiosyncrasy? Fate or chance? Can it be both? And which do you think Denis Villeneuve prefers? Blade Runner 2049 is a monument to the 1982 original. In fact, it’s full […]
“Battle Of The Sexes”
Ninety million people watched the Battle of the Sexes in 1973. That’s twice the viewership of any modern Super Bowl. It’s a population share closer to the number of Americans who vote in presidential elections than the audience for a smash-hit TV program. (It’s five times more people than watched the Game of Thrones season […]
“Mother!”
To watch Mother! is to wonder what’s going on, and whether Darren Aronofsky will be merciful enough to actually tell us. The writer-director, whose narratives are so rife with ambiguity, while his touch and tonality are anything but, opens his new thriller just inches from an immolating woman’s visage. Her face is actively burning, and […]
Charlize In Charge
Given Mad Max: Fury Road, the Fast franchise, and now Atomic Blonde, Charlize Theron seems dead set on spending her forties as an action star. But the South African actor has been working across genres for two decades, stealing scenes, elevating co-stars, and portraying complicated, sharp-edged characters with tumultuous internal lives. On today’s show, we discuss three […]