Directed by David O. Russell In Three Kings four U.S. soldiers celebrate the end of the Gulf War by hatching a plan to steal Saddam Hussein's gold. They will find a map rolled up in a man's ass and quickly determine what this map signifies. Then the four soldiers of varying ranks head into a small … Continue reading Three Kings (1999)
Month: February 2019
Post Tenebras Lux (2012)
Directed by Carlos Reygadas This is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. It's amazing. I knew nothing about Post Tenebras Lux going in, and that's good because no description could prepare you for what this movie is. I'm not even sure what it is, but it's going to be one I have to chew … Continue reading Post Tenebras Lux (2012)
Traffic (2000)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh Traffic is Steven Soderbergh's sprawling epic about drugs, covering the people who sell it, consume it and who try to stop it. The film features an ensemble cast that in some instances never connect. It is the drug trafficking vision of The Longest Day (1962), the massive war film about the D-Day … Continue reading Traffic (2000)
Vice (2018)
Directed by Adam McKay Okay, so a biopic can frame its subject in two ways, it seems: First is a traditional start to finish marathon, starting with the subject's youth and charting their rise until we get to the end. The second is a more narrow focus of an important moment in the subject's life, … Continue reading Vice (2018)
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Directed by Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk certainly wears its heart on its sleeve. Barry Jenkins' follow up to the Oscar-winning Moonlight seems to pick up where that one left off, opening on two characters as if we've known them our whole lives. They are Tish (Kiki Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), childhood friends … Continue reading If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Sunshine (2007)
Directed by Danny Boyle "ashes to ashes, stardust to stardust." The Icarus II is sent to reignite a dying sun in Danny Boyle's Sunshine, and yes, there was an Icarus I, and yes the Icarus II crew will come across the distress signal of the Icarus I which hadn't been heard from in seven years. Spooky. … Continue reading Sunshine (2007)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder A middle-aged woman and a young Moroccan man fall in love in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Their relationship will befuddle most and attract open contempt from others. It's the same type of hatred of the outsider as in Fassbinder's Katzelmacher, though because we are so acquainted with the subject of … Continue reading Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Katzelmacher (1969)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Katzelmacher is a strange, dark comedy of sorts which takes place on street corners and in bedrooms. The characters of this film, a series of disgruntled husbands and wives, discuss little more than money and sex. One of the people in this odd group is a prostitute, though the way … Continue reading Katzelmacher (1969)
Hold the Dark (2018)
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier Jeremy Saulnier's movies are violent, even as far as violent movies go. He gets creative with who dies and how, and in some ways it seems all of his stories are constructed in reverse, thinking of a shocking, sensational character death and then constructing a narrative that could lead to this … Continue reading Hold the Dark (2018)
Primer (2004)
Directed by Shane Carruth Primer opens with what has become a familiar image: young, aspirational start up employees working in their garage. Whatever they're working on doesn't much matter because soon they stumble into time travel, and of course that captures their imagination. They are Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan), and they're almost always … Continue reading Primer (2004)
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