Directed by Boots Riley Sorry to Bother You satirizes our own world by constructing one of its own, not unlike those of Terry Gilliam's movies, most notably Brazil. There is a lot going on here, from the commentary on race (adopting white traits to get ahead in the world) to the commentary on Silicon Valley CEOs … Continue reading Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Month: July 2018
Eighth Grade (2018)
Directed by Bo Burnham I walked out of Eighth Grade feeling a buzz only coming of age stories can offer. In Kayla's (Elsie Fisher) journey we see something of ourselves. The film is a blend of universal truths and the hyper-specific world of today's teenagers. It seems that older movies used to capture a generation by … Continue reading Eighth Grade (2018)
American Animals (2018)
Directed by Bart Layton American Animals does not lack for spirit. This documentary-heist thriller hybrid, with a little Todd Phillips thrown in, chronicles the buildup to an ill-fated university art heist by a group of four disaffected young men. They steal not out of necessity but out of boredom. They live quiet lives in Lexington, … Continue reading American Animals (2018)
Columbus (2017) [Revisited]
Directed by Kogonada "Your mother, did she do meth?" Columbus looks to have been made with other films in mind. At one point during the soothing, walk and talk movie, Jin (John Cho) points out to Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) that their respective problems aren't easy to solve because, this "isn't a movie." It's one … Continue reading Columbus (2017) [Revisited]
The Seventh Continent (1989)
Directed by Michael Haneke Everything is fragmented in The Seventh Continent. Like Haneke's Code Unknown (2000), the film is separated with cuts to black between every scene. Some of these scenes are brief vignettes, and in those cuts to black we have no real sense of how much time has passed. We know right off the bat … Continue reading The Seventh Continent (1989)
All the Real Girls (2003)
Directed by David Gordon Green All the Real Girls is a love story between a womanizer and the 18 year-old sister of his best friend. When the story opens they are standing across from each other, and she's asking him why he's never kissed her. We're only just now meeting these characters, but they know … Continue reading All the Real Girls (2003)
American Made (2017)
Directed by Doug Liman There's a good story somewhere in here, but American Made doesn't see it. This is a crazy story based on true events, the type that has to someday become a movie, though much of that insanity is watered down by the ways in which this feels like it's ripping off so many … Continue reading American Made (2017)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Directed by Werner Herzog In Aguirre, the Wrath of God, a Spanish expedition travels through the jungle in search of El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. We meet the explorers as they struggle down a narrow trail in the mountains, each step possibly not far from the last. The journey is already treacherous and growing … Continue reading Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
The Changeling (1980)
Directed by Peter Medak Alright so right off the bat, this movie scared me. It might be a silly ghost story with pretty simple effects (a creaking door, high-pitched strings, a cobwebby wheelchair), but sh*t was I tense near the end. Maybe it was a really effective movie, or maybe it was that the movie … Continue reading The Changeling (1980)
Code Unkown (2000)
Directed by Michael Haneke *This post is longer than it should be because I try to figure out how best to describe my affections for a movie I probably don't yet really understand. So I figured I'd love Code Unknown going in, and I do. This says less about the film and more about what piques … Continue reading Code Unkown (2000)
