Directed by David Zellner, Nathan Zellner The "damsel" in question is Penelope (Mia Wasikowska), and she does not need to be saved. Though she's the titular character, Penelope doesn't enter the narrative until halfway into the movie, and her role is really to be the eye of the storm, the center around which all the … Continue reading Damsel (2018)
Uncategorized
Leave No Trace (2018)
Directed by Debra Granik In Leave No Trace a military veteran and his teenaged daughter live a quiet life in the forest. Soon local law enforcement will track them down and introduce them back to civilization. The daughter, having never been forced to choose between the wild and the civilized world, slowly adapts to the new … Continue reading Leave No Trace (2018)
Patriot Games (1992)
Directed by Philip Noyce It's easy to get Patriot Games mixed up with any other number of Harrison Ford action movies, whether it's Witness, The Fugitive, Air Force One, Frantic, Presumed Innocent, Clear and Present Danger, etc. In these movies he plays a gruff, over the hill agent of some kind who finds himself involved in a dangerous plot out … Continue reading Patriot Games (1992)
Trees Lounge (1996)
Directed by Steve Buscemi Trees Lounge has the feeling of a Jim Jarmusch film, something between Stranger Than Paradise, Broken Flowers and 2016's Paterson. It's a combination of unique portraits of oddball, melancholic characters and features a cast that could be pulled straight from a Jarmusch film. Familiar faces like Chloë Sevigny (Broken Flowers), Samuel L. Jackson, Eszter Balint (Stranger … Continue reading Trees Lounge (1996)
Starman (1984)
Directed by John Carpenter In 1977 NASA launched Voyager 2, a space probe bearing messages of "greetings" in 54 languages. In 1984 an alien intercepted that probe and headed to earth where its spacecraft was shot down somewhere over Wisconsin. Unharmed, the alien made its way towards a cabin and, using a video reference and … Continue reading Starman (1984)
Woman Walks Ahead (2018)
Directed by Susanna White Woman Walks Ahead has good intentions, but it tries to push upon us a story we've seen before. The specifics of Catherine Weldon's (Jessica Chastain) journey out west to paint a portrait of a Native American Chief (Michael Greyeyes) might be unique, but the movie boils it all down into the … Continue reading Woman Walks Ahead (2018)
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)
Directed by Marina Zenovich Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind tries to do a little of everything. It's a look at the life and career, from start to finish, of comedian Robin Williams. It's an interesting look at the comedian turned celebrity's career, but it's hard to differentiate this from any number of celebrity documentaries … Continue reading Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven Starship Troopers only borrowed the name from the science-fiction book written by Edward Neumeier after similarities between that book and the screenplay, originally titled Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine. Director Paul Verhoeven couldn't read more than a few chapters of the Neumeier book, saying it made him "bored and depressed." Verhoeven later explained … Continue reading Starship Troopers (1997)
High Noon (1952)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann High Noon takes place over the course of a tense but mostly uneventful 90 minutes, at least until the expected gunfight which ends the film. The story concerns a freshly married, newly retired Marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), whose sense of duty compels him to stay on the job just a … Continue reading High Noon (1952)
Pete’s Dragon (2016)
Directed by David Lowery Pete's Dragon would seem to be an unlikely follow up to David Lowery's 2013 film Ain't Them Bodies Saints, not to mention an unlikely precursor to 2017's A Ghost Story. This is a straight up Disney fable, a big-budget movie about a CGI dragon while those other two are small, independent arthouse films … Continue reading Pete’s Dragon (2016)
