Directed by Hal Needham Everyone knows and loves Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and will do just about anything to help him along the way in Smokey and the Bandit. He's a Han Solo-type character who even in the most dire circumstances remains in control, and he spends most of the film toying with a pursuing police officer … Continue reading Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994)
Directed by Michael Haneke Like The Seventh Continent, this is a film that builds to a particularly violent tragedy, attempting to show the steps leading to that fateful conclusion without ever explaining why. Both films try to objectively depict the people who head down such a path, but the lack of any apparent motivation suggests that … Continue reading 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994)
The Final Girls (2015)
Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson Like Jumangi, this is a movie that sucks its ensemble cast into a limited, fictional world dominated by a handful of tropes from which they have to play the game, and thus comment on it, to escape. In The Final Girls, a group of teenagers find themselves trapped inside the summer camp from a cult … Continue reading The Final Girls (2015)
The Land of Steady Habits (2018)
Directed by Nicole Holofcener Anders Hill (Ben Mendelsohn) suffers quietly in The Land of Steady Habits. By the time we meet him wandering cluelessly through Bed, Bath & Beyond (or is it Pottery Barn?) he has already divorced his wife, Helene (Edie Falco) and quite his job in finance for an early retirement. "You are the … Continue reading The Land of Steady Habits (2018)
The Chocolate War (1988)
Directed by Keith Gordon The Chocolate War has a lot in common with what I must assume is a much more accessible movie, 1989's Dead Poets Society. Both films take place at all-male boarding schools in which there is a strong divide between the adolescents and their teachers. In Dead Poets Society Robin Williams plays the teacher … Continue reading The Chocolate War (1988)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Directed by Garth Jennings The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a strange little movie. I say "little" despite the fact that earth is blown up in the first 20 minutes, and we spend the rest of the movie flying between different worlds. The "galaxy" here involves depressed robots, literal thinking caps, galactic presidential candidates, … Continue reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Hereditary (2018)
Directed by Ari Aster Hereditary is a riveting family drama and a pretty chilling horror movie. I realized while watching this that I have no idea what makes a great horror movie because the end, which remains creepy, was also somewhat disappointing in that it mimicked most other horror movies. You know, all the things … Continue reading Hereditary (2018)
Computer Chess (2013)
Directed by Andrew Bujalski Analyzing Computer Chess seems a daunting thing to do. Half the people who find a way to see it will love it, and half will hate it. I fall into the former camp, but even then it's hard to figure out why it works when it does and when it doesn't work, … Continue reading Computer Chess (2013)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Directed by Martin Brest Detroit cop, Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), is a fish out of water in Beverly Hills when he goes to investigate the murder of his friend, Mikey (James Russo). As a black man he will find himself challenged not only by the man he's chasing after but the police as well. Eventually … Continue reading Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Support the Girls (2018)
Directed by Andrew Bujalski Support the Girls looks at a day in the life of the general manager of a Hooters-like restaurant somewhere in Texas. Regina Hall plays that manager, Lisa, who is overtired, under appreciated (by some) but nonetheless compassionate and giving to everyone around her. She is a beacon, in some ways, the … Continue reading Support the Girls (2018)
