Mamet keeps us guessing in ‘Spartan’ (2004)
Mamet Monday (Movie review): The film features gorgeous settings and strong acting, and keeps you guessing.
Movies
Mamet keeps us guessing in ‘Spartan’ (2004)
Despite being from her point of view, ‘Summer ’03’ keeps teen’s world at a timid distance (Movie review)
“Summer ’03” (2018) had the misfortune of coming out the same year as “Eighth Grade,” which showed new blood can be wrung from the stone of coming-of-age dramedies. Stacked against other entries in the genre […]
‘The Black Dahlia’ (2006) gets explored as a comedy
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Before “I Am the Night,” a 2006 film explored the Black Dahlia case with a different tone.
‘Heist’ (2001) boasts intricate plotting, lovable criminals
Mamet Monday (Movie review): This crime thriller has Mamet’s usual intricate plotting plus great characters.
Korean film ‘Burning’ is a strong entry in the ‘What the heck is going on?’ subgenre (Movie review)
In the tradition of great Asian cinema, “Burning” (2018) is intensely strange and immensely engrossing. Fittingly, lead actor Ah-in Yoo, as Lee Jong-su, seems to barely be giving a performance, but we’re right there with […]
Japanese film ‘Shoplifters’ is a heartfelt exploration of a makeshift family (Movie review)
When I throw around the phrase “makeshift family” in reviews, I’m usually talking about tight groups of friends. But the Japanese film “Shoplifters” (2018) shows us a more literal makeshift family. It’s about six societal castoffs […]
‘The Favourite’ critiques timeless governmental power plays, but isn’t as sharp or funny as it could be (Movie review)
A lot has been made about how horror (“Get Out” last year) and superhero (“Black Panther” this year) films are making inroads with the Oscars, but – in terms of percentage of all films released […]
Cuaron’s ‘Roma’ a partly exhilarating, mostly exhausting, very eye-opening walk in the shoes of a 1970s Mexican maid (Movie review)
With the Oscars coming up, the guilt of constantly scrolling past “Roma” (2018) on Netflix en route to “Daredevil” episodes finally got to me, and I gave the Best Picture nominee a watch. And also, my […]
Work still sucks, and ‘Office Space’ (1999) is still a masterpiece
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Work still sucks, and Mike Judge’s film is still a masterpiece, 20 years later.
Malek, music are the stars of too-formulaic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (Movie review)
Prior to seeing “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018), I was hardly a Queen fan. The band’s popularity had faded before I was old enough to appreciate it, and growing up, their music was not something I was into. […]