Directed by John Carpenter They Live both mocks and decries capitalism, effectively, which might have been a surprise considering how much of a B movie this is. It stars a professional wrestler, Roddy Piper, features a five minute long fight sequence between Piper and Keith David over a pair of sunglasses, and well yeah, it's … Continue reading They Live (1988)
The Sisters Brothers (2018)
Directed by Jacques Audiard Starting with a cold massacre, The Sisters Brothers builds to an unexpectedly tender finale. It's a western that feels subversive if only because it becomes less violent over time, following its sibling assassin duo as they leave the game behind and look for other ways to survive. That's not their goal … Continue reading The Sisters Brothers (2018)
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Directed by Justin Baldoni Alright so I watched the sick kids falling in love movie. I don't mean to be reductive or to take away from the story here, but Five Feet Apart is a young adult romance that very much just follows the template of 2014's The Fault in Our Stars. Going back even further it's … Continue reading Five Feet Apart (2019)
The Mustang (2019)
Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre The Mustang is about Roman (Matthias Schoenaerts), a prison inmate with an anger problem as he develops an interest in working with wrangled mustangs to "break" them so that they can be auctioned off. It's an intimate portrait of the man, reminiscent of recent films like The Rider (2017) and Lean on … Continue reading The Mustang (2019)
Police Story (1985)
Directed by Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen So this is maybe the best action movie of all time? Police Story is about an officer assigned to protect a witness for the prosecution in its case against a drug lord, but it's really a romantic comedy with a tantalizing amount of action set pieces that don't involve guns. These … Continue reading Police Story (1985)
Road House (1989)
Directed by Rowdy Herrington Patrick Swayze plays a peace-minded bouncer in Road House, an action movie so glorious, satirical, oily and self-aware that it seems the perfect capper to a decade of over the top action movies. Dalton's (Swayze) reputation precedes him wherever he goes. He's tough, no-nonsense, and like in so many of these kinds … Continue reading Road House (1989)
To the Wonder (2012)
Directed by Terrence Malick There is certainly something admirable about Terrence Malick and this film in particular. It's so unabashedly Malick, so artful and abstract, with no real dialogue or exposition to lean on. Before we even hear any two characters speak we see them dance, giggle, run and throw themselves into each other's arms. … Continue reading To the Wonder (2012)
Tremors (1990)
Directed by Ron Underwood Perfection is a tiny, tiny desert town in which live only a handful of people, two of whom are best friends intent on hitting the open road like in a John Mellencamp song. They are Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward), two handymen fed up with their jobs and eager for … Continue reading Tremors (1990)
Black Mother (2018)
Directed by Khalik Allah Black Mother is a textured dreamlike visual poem taking us through life and death and the streets of Jamaica. The opening images inspired some sort of deja vu, but by the end it felt like even the simplest shots were things I had never seen before. It's an awe-inspiring journey, at … Continue reading Black Mother (2018)
Triple Frontier (2019)
Directed by J.C. Chandor There's a lot of testosterone in Triple Frontier, a movie about five former Special Forces operatives who hatch a plan to steal millions of dollars from a drug lord. The plan seems foolproof, at least as much as they normally do within the context of a movie, taking place in a sparsely … Continue reading Triple Frontier (2019)
