Directed by Gabe Klinger Double Play is a loose documentary about the friendship between filmmakers James Benning and Richard Linklater.  It's loose in the sense that there's not much of a point other than to hang out with two friends as they reflect on their friendship and talk about movies.  For some people, like me, … Continue reading Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater (2013)

Directed by James Hanlon, Gedeon Naudet, Jules Naudet   9/11 is a harrowing film simply because of the subject matter and the intimacy with that event, but it's also incredibly frustrating to watch from a filmmaking standpoint.  The film was shot by two brothers, Gedeon and Jules Naudet, who were following around a young firefighter … Continue reading 9/11 (2002)

Directed by Victor Fleming Beyond just a spectacle, The Wizard of Oz is about growing up and the ways in which adults can fail you.  It's a famous story in which young Dorothy (Judy Garland), once stranded far, far away from home, must seek out the mythical Wizard of Oz only to find that he is … Continue reading The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch's name just sounds nice to pronounce.  Ernst Lubitsch.  Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner is a pleasant romantic comedy that was the basis for 1998's You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.  Ernst Lubitsch. In Corner, there are two employees who are constantly at each other's throats and who have … Continue reading The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Okay, so I just wrote about Lone Star and the slight ridiculousness of all the intersecting, overlapping storylines of its ensemble cast.  Magnolia deals with the same thing, but right up front Anderson acknowledges the role of coincidence in this story.  Between this narrated prologue and the climactic frog-raining scene, there seem … Continue reading Magnolia (1999)

Directed by John Sayles Lone Star is a murder mystery that slips in a commentary on modern day race-relations until the murder mystery falls flat, and every scene hits you over the head with a cultural commentary that feels more 'preaching to the choir' than fresh and insightful. It's similar to the 2005 Oscar-winning Crash, another … Continue reading Lone Star (1996)

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan's first film, like Margaret and Manchester By the Sea, is about pushing back together a family that is pulling apart.  In each of his three films the family is splintered and barely holding on.  The biggest decisions his characters make are to stick around and work it out, though usually this … Continue reading You Can Count on Me (2000)

Directed by Alexander Payne Alexander Payne's movies show people at their worst.  In Election a benign high school teacher stoops to new lows to interfere with a class election, About Schmidt is about a man Payne described as "a small man" who loathes his daughter's benign husband, and Sideways is about a sad, failed writer and a sad, … Continue reading Sideways (2004)

Directed by Wim Wenders The angels of Wings of Desire are predominantly male and all white.  They see the world from above in black and white, they wear ponytails, they can listen to the thoughts of the people below, and they occasionally intervene but aren't always successful.  The story follows two of them, Damiel (Bruno Ganz) … Continue reading Wings of Desire (1987)

Directed by Godfrey Reggio Koyaanisqatsi is a visual poem whose title is derived from a dying language and means "life out of balance."  It's a beautiful film but at times a sinister one.  The entire documentary is composed only of visuals and music, with no narration whatsoever.  There is no single protagonist, no single location, … Continue reading Koyaanisqatsi (1982)