Directed by Mike Mills Mike Mills' previous film (2010's Beginners) is one of my all time favorites, and I think 20th Century Women might be even better.  Like his last film this one is deeply personal and deeply lathered in a sense of time and space.  Using some unconventional storytelling techniques, multiple breaks of the fourth wall, … Continue reading 20th Century Women (2016)

Directed by Taylor Sheridan Wind River is the third film in Taylor Sheridan's unofficial trilogy on the American frontier.  Sheridan previously wrote 2015's Sicario and 2016's Hell or High Water.  Each of these three films follows a group of people struggling to survive.  While the first two were set in the American Southwest, this one takes place … Continue reading Wind River (2017)

Directed by Dean Devlin I chose to see Geostorm in theaters on a Wednesday night.  That's on me.  I have to live with this. Don't look for meaning in Geostorm, there isn't any.  I spent the last forty-five or so minutes investigating the making of this film, the career of director Dean Devlin and his connection to … Continue reading Geostorm (2017)

Directed by Richard Linklater Inning by Inning is an ESPN documentary about University of Texas head baseball coach Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in NCAA history.  The film chronicles Augie's teachings, his life leading up to coaching as well as his coaching success.  Made by Austin-based director Richard Linklater, himself a former college baseball player, the … Continue reading Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach (2008)

Directed by Todd Solondz Welcome to the Dollhouse is the second film by writer/director Todd Solondz.  His first films is called Fear, Anxiety & Depression, and because of the difficulty he had making the film, Solondz never thought he'd make another one.  His next film after this one would be called Happiness, about a pedophile, and his … Continue reading Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

Directed by Billy Wilder Is Some Like It Hot subversive?  I think it's subversive, though it seems to have spawned countless cross-dressing comedies, like Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, and even such classics as Juwanna Man and White Chicks.  In these stories, something forces or compels a character to go undercover, and along the way a love interest will challenge their ability to … Continue reading Some Like It Hot (1959)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos Yorgos Lanthimos makes films that unsettle you.  Like Dogtooth and The Lobster, these films challenge you through certain vivid, occasionally grotesque images as well as by blurring the lines between genre.  It's hard to know what to call his movies, though The Killing of a Sacred Deer is the closest thing to an outright … Continue reading The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Directed by Claude Barras The puppets in My Life as a Zucchini have sunken, haunted eyes.  Their like characters from a Tim Burton film, and their design certainly underscores their lonely lives.  Zucchini is a boy who believes he may have killed his mother and so is sent to a small orphanage with other kids who … Continue reading My Life as a Zucchini (2016)

Directed by Richard Linklater Richard Linklater has a habit of making films that you just want to sit with.  Last Flag Flying is another one of those films.  It's never outright funny or even tragic, considering the subject material, but it feels, I don't know, human? The tragedy comes at the beginning, before we know … Continue reading Last Flag Flying (2017)

Directed by Todd Solondz It'd be easy to dismiss Wiener-Dog as some kind of cheesy A Dog's Purpose type of movie. It's not that, at all.  Yes, it's a story about a wiener dog that intersects with the lives of a four different people, but the dog might as well be an old five dollar bill that's … Continue reading Wiener-Dog (2016)