Directed by James Gray Ad Astra is a little bit like Apocalypse Now in space. It's the story of an astronaut following in his father's footsteps as he tracks him down, all the way from Earth to Neptune. He has only memories of his father as well as the stories he is told, about how he has … Continue reading Ad Astra (2019)
Month: September 2019
Light of My Life (2019)
Directed by Casey Affleck Light of My Life owes a lot to 2017’s A Ghost Story. It would appear that Affleck took more from that film in which he acted than just its composer and visual aesthetic. In his post-apocalyptic survival tale the main theme is the stories we tell to each other and pass … Continue reading Light of My Life (2019)
The Queen of Versailles (2012)
Directed by Lauren Greenfield The Queen of Versailles has too many interesting details to count. It's both absurd and tragic, a hyper-specific story of the 1% that morphs into one more universal. David and Jackie Siegel are a married couple who want to build the largest home in America, an estate modeled after the Palace … Continue reading The Queen of Versailles (2012)
Fear (1996)
Directed by James Foley David (Mark Wahlberg) becomes obsessed with Nicole (Reese Witherspoon) in Fear, a lurid thriller in the mold of Fatal Attraction, Cape Fear or Misery. There seems to have been a trend of late 80s and 90s thrillers that dealt specifically with obsession, a motivation beyond greed or revenge but something more disturbed. In Fear … Continue reading Fear (1996)
Kings of the Road (1976)
Directed by Wim Wenders Kings of the Road is a hangout movie, following a hermit projectionist, Bruno, and a recently divorced man named Robert. They meet when Robert interrupts Bruno's idyllic morning routine by trying to kill himself, though perhaps as a way of shying away from the darkness of a suicide attempt, his effort … Continue reading Kings of the Road (1976)
Every Thing Will Be Fine (2015)
Directed by Wim Wenders Every Thing Will Be Fine is a melodrama that keeps you at arm's distance. Told over the course of a decade it tells the struggle of a man, woman and child after a fatal accident. He, Tomas (James Franco) was the driver of a car that hit one of two young … Continue reading Every Thing Will Be Fine (2015)
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
Directed by Drew Goddard Having seen Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods, it's easy to suspect that there's something otherworldly going on at the El Royale, a stylish but mysteriously sparse hotel that straddles the state line between California and Nevada. Set in the late 60s or early 70s this place is supposed to have been … Continue reading Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
The Birdcage (1996)
Directed by Mike Nichols The Birdcage is a sweet, slapstick comedy about two gay men posing as a man and wife for the introduction to the very conservative parents of their son's bride-to-be. It contains all the expected sources of humor and conflict as well as the inevitable revelations in the third act. But those … Continue reading The Birdcage (1996)
Back to School (1986)
Directed by Alan Metter Back to School feels like the 80s college movie that every other college movie has tried to parody. The story is unimportant as it's built on tropes, cliches and melodrama and never really commits to anything beyond the most immediate joke. That's not a criticism, or maybe subconsciously it is, just … Continue reading Back to School (1986)
The Abyss (1989)
Directed by James Cameron The Abyss felt a lot like an underwater version of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's grand, operatic and similarly concerned with extraterrestrial life forms. Or maybe what I'm thinking of is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While it does run a bit long, the film is both riveting, amusing and frightening, all … Continue reading The Abyss (1989)
