Sitting in a grey room on a bleak winter day, the Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) listens as a despairing member of his flock asks, “Will God forgive us for what we’ve done to this world?” This ominous question sets the general mood for Paul Schrader’s First Reformed and lingers over the reverend’s head as he personally wrestles with a life caught between hope and … Continue reading First Reformed
Directed by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians flaunts the extravagant lives of Asian elites and the ongoing battle between heritage and cultural assimilation. Set in Singapore, the comedy centers around Asian aristocracy and Asian-American ideals. Lead heroine and NYU economics professor Rachel Chu (portrayed by Constance Wu) finds herself caught in the midst of an all-out Asian socialite war because she is unwittingly dating “Asia’s … Continue reading Crazy Rich Asians
How does one make poetry in film? Paterson, Jim Jarmusch’s most recent film, takes on this issue by taking on the poetic style of William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens, presenting, through the film form, reality breaking in through the prosaic rhythm of life. The film follows Paterson, a poetry-writing bus driver played by Adam Driver, and his loving relationship with his wife, Laura. Unlike … Continue reading Paterson
65,000 frames, 853 oil paintings, and 90 design paintings all come together into 1 hour and 35 minutes of exploration into the mind of Vincent van Gogh. Set approximately one year after the unexpected death of Van Gogh, Loving Vincent, directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, follows the path of Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth), a model for several of Van Gogh’s portraits, as he … Continue reading Loving Vincent
Tom Cruise is known for doing his own stunts, but for American Made, he also learned to fly. Based off true events from the 1980’s, American Made tells the story of Barry Seal (Cruise), a commercial pilot, husband, father, and adrenaline junkie who simply cannot content himself with anything safe. After becoming bored with his job, Seal begins smuggling drugs in his airbus cockpit across … Continue reading American Made
Marvel continues to domineer the super-hero movie market with this year’s autumn release, “Thor: Ragnarok.” Since Anthony and Joe Russo’s treacherous “Captain America: Civil War,” Marvel fans have itched to learn the fate of that movie’s missing characters, Thor and the Hulk. This movie satisfies those super-cravings. “Ragnarok” kicks off humorously and, like most other Marvel movies, that humor reemerges throughout the plot (think Captain … Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok
A woman devours an entire pie in a five-minute sequence that is divided by only a single cut. A deceased man lies on a hospital bed, a white sheet covering his corpse. The shot lingers for thirty seconds, the camera static and the frame unchanging, until the body sits up, the sheet still draped over his figure. He turns his head. Where his eyes would … Continue reading A Ghost Story—4.5/5 Stars
Woody Harrelson might be the best contemporary actor at playing an alcoholic. Naomi Watts and Brie Larson star alongside Harrelson in The Glass Castle, the third feature film (and first under a major studio) from writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton. With so much talent and so many resources, a film like this shouldn’t go wrong. It does. Harrelson plays Rex Walls, husband and father of four. … Continue reading The Glass Castle—2.5/5 stars
In a world where feminism and femininity often seem at odds, Wonder Woman presents an alternative: a woman too secure in her own purpose to bother with such labels at all. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) is raised by the Amazons, a tribe of warrior women dedicated to defending the world against Ares, the god of war. When British soldier Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash-lands near … Continue reading Wonder Woman
In Summer 2017, Hollywood reached peak block-buster ad-nauseum. “Baby Driver” looked like it was going to be more of the same – another cliched action film riddled with car chases and explosions. Going to the theater, I was prepared to be thoroughly bored. Yet, within minutes of the film starting, “Baby Driver” had my complete attention and wouldn’t let go. “Baby Driver” – Edgar Wright’s … Continue reading Baby Driver
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