Directed by Andrew Bujalski It's hard to describe the appeal of Funny Ha Ha. It's an early entry, perhaps the first, in the unofficial "mumble core" movement, those films made on tiny budgets among friends, possibly improvised and with not so great sound quality. These are stories about young adults working their way through their young … Continue reading Funny Ha Ha (2002)
The Handmaiden (2016)
Directed by Park Chan-wook The Handmaiden is hyper-everything. It's a Tarantino-esque revenge thriller told from multiple points of view with several characters conning each other. The film is neatly broken up into three parts, each one defined by a particular scheme which becomes further undermined until the end, like a series of dominoes falling. It's … Continue reading The Handmaiden (2016)
A Separation (2011)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi The Separation opens with a married couple, Nader and Simin, arguing before a judge. They are in a divorce court, but neither wants to get divorced. She wants to move abroad immediately to give their daughter, Termeh, a better life, and he wants to wait a little longer to care for … Continue reading A Separation (2011)
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch "I’m just sick of zombies, man. Like, the real zombies that are just walking around us, not paying attention to anything, letting the end of the world happen. There’s a throwaway line in Only Lovers Left Alive where the couple talks about humans being zombies — because they’re not conscious of … Continue reading The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Aniara (2018)
Directed by Pella Kågerman, Hugo Lilja Aniara is like if you took Wall-E, Solaris, Passengers and A Ghost Story and put them in a blender, and then you sprinkled in a little Lars von Trier for good measure. It's a story that takes place in a hermetically sealed world, a large space ship taking passengers on a three week … Continue reading Aniara (2018)
Dark Phoenix (2019)
Directed by Simon Kinberg At first Dark Phoenix, by way of its title and prologue, seems to narrow its focus to Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), much as Logan did for Wolverine. Then it turns out to be the loud, obnoxious finale to the most recent rebrand of the X-men franchise, choosing to end the story with an … Continue reading Dark Phoenix (2019)
Memories of Murder (2003)
Directed by Bong Joon-ho Memories of Murder is a thriller about the search for a small-town serial killer in 1986. It's a genre movie, I suppose, but what makes it so good are all the things that might be half-assed in other versions of this movie. It balances unexpected humor and pathos, and it stars … Continue reading Memories of Murder (2003)
Rocketman (2019)
Directed by Dexter Fletcher It's hard not to compare Rocketman to last year's Bohemian Rhapsody. Both movies follow a fairly standard biopic formula in depicting the rise, fall and rise of a celebrated English star, both who happened to cross paths with the apparently devious John Reid. Director Dexter Fletcher even had a hand in guiding the Bohemian … Continue reading Rocketman (2019)
Poetry (2010)
Directed by Lee Chang-dong While I don't as of yet have a firm grasp on what happens at the end of this movie, I'm nevertheless compelled to think of this as one of the best I've ever seen. That's ridiculous, right? It's kind of ridiculous, but it's riveting, tragic, at times amusing and eventually deeply … Continue reading Poetry (2010)
Take Shelter (2011)
Directed by Jeff Nichols Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter is a story about anxiety and marriage. He wrote the story in 2008, a year into his marriage and during the financial recession of that time. Those expected worries pervade every moment of this film, a story about a man convinced there's a storm of biblical proportions on … Continue reading Take Shelter (2011)
