By the Law (1926) Five prospectors head to the Yukon. After one of them kills two of his compatriots, the survivors, a husband and wife, subdue him, but, isolated from civilization, struggle deciding how to proceed. Should they extract justice or wait weeks for the authorities to come? Adapted from a novel by Jack London,… Continue reading Remind me why the Babadook always follows the tracks
Wandering in the company of four horny men named Riley
Horns (2014) When Ignatius Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) proposes to his longtime girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple), she rejects him, telling him she loves someone else. The next morning, Merrin is found dead and everyone in town, except for his childhood friend Lee (Max Minghella), believes a spurned Ig murdered her. A pariah, Ig spirals into a… Continue reading Wandering in the company of four horny men named Riley
Best of the 1920s
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Francis recounts the time he exposed Dr. Caligari as a murderous sociopath who hypnotized one of his patients to commit his crimes. As he finishes his story, we learn Francis is actually patient at an insane asylum and his account is his latest delusion. This film invented the now… Continue reading Best of the 1920s
87th Academy Awards post mortem
Best Supporting Actor J. K. Simmons deserved to win and if he’d been nominated for Best Actor (he’s really a co-lead), he might have still won. Terrence Fletcher was the best performance of the year and will be one of the most talked about and analyzed performances for some time. Best Costume Design The Grand… Continue reading 87th Academy Awards post mortem
Gleaning miracles from the edges of the future
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002) Varda’s follow-up to her seminal film is too self-aggrandizing. Instead of revisiting the people or places she met in the first movie, she reads congratulatory postcards from viewers. This pretentious film almost cheapens the power of the original. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) When he questions the orders… Continue reading Gleaning miracles from the edges of the future
Ranking Stanley Kubrick
13) Killer’s Kiss (1955) One night, unlucky boxer Davey hears screams coming from the home of his attractive neighbor Gloria. Having long admired her from a distance, Davey convinces Gloria to run away from her abusive gangster boss, Vincent, but their escape is complicated when mobsters kill Davey’s manager and blame him for the crime.… Continue reading Ranking Stanley Kubrick
The stellar Mr. Arkadin crawls at night in Indochina
Interstellar (2014) In the not so distant future, a planet-wide blight has hurled humanity backwards into a semi-agrarian society. Widowed former NASA astronaut Joseph “Coop” Cooper runs a farm with his daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy), son Tom, and father-in-law Donald (John Lithgow), but he still dreams of traveling to the stars. Murphy believes a ghost is manipulating… Continue reading The stellar Mr. Arkadin crawls at night in Indochina
Santa’s theory of the girl in a cage: A film by Bergman
La Cage aux Folles (1978) Renato owns a nightclub featuring his longtime lover, and accomplished drag performer, Albin. This creates complications when Laurent, Renato’s son from a previous relationship, brings his fiancée and her conservative parents home. After watching Robin Williams and Nathan Lane enthusiastically two-step their way through an energetic love affair alongside the perfectly cast Gene… Continue reading Santa’s theory of the girl in a cage: A film by Bergman
Best of the 1930s
The Blood of a Poet (1930) The first part of Jean Cocteau’s Orphic trilogy is a surrealist fever dream. An artist paints a mouth which starts talking, then transfers to his hand, then to a nearby statue. This statue convinces the artist to pass through a mirror to a bizarre world inhabited by opium smokers… Continue reading Best of the 1930s
A royal resume
Despite her retirement from Hollywood at age 26 to become the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly was ranked the 13th greatest female film star by the American Film Institute. Because she retired so young, her public image was frozen as a young, beautiful woman and her marriage into royalty created a unique mystique among American celebrities. Add… Continue reading A royal resume