Directed by James Ward Byrkit Coherence is a low budget, contained sci-fi movie that relies on no special effects, just the effective performances of the actors who carry the story.  It's about a moment in time, as a comet passes overhead, in which different dimensions coalesce or at least come into brief contact.  We follow … Continue reading Coherence (2013)

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni Blow Up was Antonioni's biggest hit.  It's a film that seems as immersed in the 1960s youth, counter culture movement as any other I can think of.  Other films like Bonnie & Clyde (1968) likely benefited from a growing audience born out of this time period, but Blow Up seems like it couldn't … Continue reading Blow Up (1966)

Directed by D.A. Pennebaker The 1967 New York Times review of this film begins: "It will be a good joke on us all if, in fifty years or so, Dylan is regarded as a significant figure in English poetry. Not Mr. Thomas, the late Welsh bard, but Bob, the guitar-picking American balladeer. One step toward … Continue reading Don’t Look Back (1967)

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni Red Desert might make you expect something resembling a western, at least on the surface.  Knowing this was an Antonioni film, I didn't expect much of a narrative or anything as plot-heavy as a John Wayne movie, but the title does make you think of two things: color and scope. There … Continue reading Red Desert (1964)

Directed by Charlie McDowell The One I Love is a movie I loved when I first saw it a couple years ago.  It's a small, seemingly lean story about love, science-fiction, ego and the projection of that ego onto other people.  It's a story about a couple trying to avoid falling completely out of love, … Continue reading The One I Love (2014)

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni L'Avventura is a film about the people left behind after a woman's disappearance during a yacht trip.  Even though Anna (Lea Massari) is the one who disappears on a small, rocky island, the remaining characters, Claudia and Sandro feel like the ones stuck behind.  Over the next two hours following her … Continue reading L’Avventura (1960)

Written by William Monahan The Gambler is a bit of a slog to get through.  It's a story about a man who likes to get beaten up.  This character, Jim, turns out to be a UCLA English professor who spends his lectures (in very long scenes) discussing his life philosophy and various ways of saying … Continue reading The Gambler (2014) [Script Only]

Directed by David Lowery A Ghost Story has to teach you how to watch it.  The film is so quiet, so lingering, so meditative, and it has to show you how to sit with it.  There is no real plot, but there is a point, and it's all building to something.  In the first 30 … Continue reading A Ghost Story (2017)

Directed by the Coen Brothers Every time I watch a Coen Brothers' film, I think it might be my new favorite.  Inside Llewyn Davis seems to follow the mold of their most recent films that blur the lines between parody and honesty and are jam packed with memorable characters, sharp dialogue and an ultimate sense … Continue reading Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Directed by Kirsten Johnson Cameraperson is presented as Kirsten Johnson's memoir.  She has been a documentary camera operator and cinematographer for over 25 years, and the clips that make up this documentary are assembled from what she has shot for other movies over that career. Each vignette, some of which we return to and some … Continue reading Cameraperson (2016)