Directed by Ron Underwood Perfection is a tiny, tiny desert town in which live only a handful of people, two of whom are best friends intent on hitting the open road like in a John Mellencamp song. They are Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward), two handymen fed up with their jobs and eager for … Continue reading Tremors (1990)
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Black Mother (2018)
Directed by Khalik Allah Black Mother is a textured dreamlike visual poem taking us through life and death and the streets of Jamaica. The opening images inspired some sort of deja vu, but by the end it felt like even the simplest shots were things I had never seen before. It's an awe-inspiring journey, at … Continue reading Black Mother (2018)
Triple Frontier (2019)
Directed by J.C. Chandor There's a lot of testosterone in Triple Frontier, a movie about five former Special Forces operatives who hatch a plan to steal millions of dollars from a drug lord. The plan seems foolproof, at least as much as they normally do within the context of a movie, taking place in a sparsely … Continue reading Triple Frontier (2019)
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
Directed by Roy Andersson "I said I'm happy to hear you're doing well." Here we have a series of single shot vignettes, ranging in duration from less than a minute to around ten. In one, all that we see is a woman talking to a baby in a crib, and in another we watch a … Continue reading A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
Junebug (2005)
Directed by Phil Morrison The walls are very thin in the North Carolina home where much of Junebug takes place. It's a quietly crowded place, welcoming home the prodigal son, George (Alessandro Nivola) and his new wife, Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz). George's younger brother, Johnny (Ben McKenzie) remains at home with his pregnant wife, the effervescent, tragic … Continue reading Junebug (2005)
For All Mankind (1989)
Directed by Al Reinert For All Mankind is a different kind of space movie. It's as awe-inspiring as movies like Apollo 13 (of which Al Reinert was a co-writer) and the recent documentary Apollo 11, but where so much of those movies were instilled with the inherent drama of traveling through the vacuum of space, this one … Continue reading For All Mankind (1989)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck For some reason the appeal behind superhero origin stories finally clicked while watching this movie. It's obligatory at this point, the hero discovers or learns to harness his/her powers, they defeat the villain, and they probably make a few new friends along the way. It's essentially a coming of … Continue reading Captain Marvel (2019)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Directed by John Madden Shakespeare in Love plays like a Shakespearean play, namely Romeo & Juliet. There's the central love story, the forces that work against them (like a suitor, old English mafia, the playwright's rival) and then the bitter, tragic end. Knowing what the film was trying to do makes it, to me, a … Continue reading Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Directed by Tim Burton When you think of a Tim Burton film you might be picturing Sleepy Hollow. It's maybe not his most noteworthy film, but the autumn landscape of this movie is decidedly, uniquely Tim Burton. It's gothic and dark but not as scary as such things would usually seem to be. This has the … Continue reading Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Fighting With My Family (2019)
Directed by Stephen Merchant Fighting With My Family lets you know right up front that it's based on a true story, something I promptly forgot until we see footage of those real people alongside the end credits. It's the story of a working class family from Norwich, England who loves wrestling. Brother and sister Zak … Continue reading Fighting With My Family (2019)
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