Vice Makes Political Corruption Fun
Vice makes contemporary politics fun and funny while underlining its monstrous corruption.
Arrival’s Ambition is Undone by its Simplistic Screenplay
Denis Villeneuve’s optimistic sci-fi ambitions are undermined by a trite, often clichéd screenplay.
Nocturnal Animals Peels Back Layers of Fiction and Reality
It’s safe to say that Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals was one of my most anticipated films of 2016. It did not disappoint.
The Hyper-Masculine Incoherency of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is neither the hero the superhero genre deserves nor the villain it dreads. This is a film about two superheroes waging war with one another that’s similarly at war with itself, riven between competing narratives, commercial concerns and an overarching ambition that sees it striving for meaning before collapsing…
The 86th Academy Awards – Predictions and Thoughts
I’m not really that interested in getting too caught up in the Oscars fol-de-rol that consumes the critical community around this time of year. I read a lot about the Academy Awards because, well, it’s people getting passionate about film! People arguing emphatically about which film is better and the industry, about who will win…
Commentary: Mastering Meaning – The Futile Search for Answers in The Master
Epiphanies about art are few and far between. You remember them. So it goes with me and Grade 7 English, when we analysed George Orwell’s Animal Farm. As my teacher unpacked the meaning and symbolism of the novel, how it was an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the rise of Communism, how the exile…
American Hustle (2013)
American Hustle reminded me of a scene from another, very different 2013 movie. About halfway through Spring Breakers, gangster-rapper (emphasis on the former) Alien, played by James Franco, bursts into a memorable, consumerist rant. “Look at my shit!” he cries, roving around his expensive bedroom, festooned with gold-plated guns and a television playing Scarface on…
The Master (2012)
I’ve mentioned before that P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia doesn’t do much for me. But I really enjoy his work: There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights are both incredible films. I was expecting a masterpiece from The Master and, instead, found another Magnolia… a well-made, well-acted film: great scenes that never had a combined effect on…
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