8 years ago
All posts by Monica Castillo
“The Overnighters”
At the foot of Lady Liberty, there's the famous quote meant to welcome immigrants to the young nation: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." It's arguably not reflective of US immigration policy, but it's a part of the ...
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“Low Down”
Opening with a line from The Night of the Hunter really sets the tone for your movie. It isn't going to be a happy one. Low Down is not a happy movie, but it is haunting, like a song that lets its notes linger in the air. Its small-scale human tragedies come a...
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“The Book of Life”
Color me impressed. After years of rumors about an animated movie about the Day of the Dead and one botched attempt by a different studio to trademark the Mexican holiday, here it is in theaters. Directed by Mexican animator Jorge R. Gutierrez of Nickelodeon’s...
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“Birdman”
Note. This review was originally published as part of our New York Film Festival coverage.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a disgruntled Michael Keaton? Closing out this year's New York Film Festival is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman. A fant...
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New York Film Festival Dispatch #1: “The Look of Silence”, “Two Days, One Night” and “Jauja”
The Look of Silence
If you didn’t get enough of Joshua Oppenheimer’s last film about the Indonesian genocide of suspected communists, he’s back with an equally unnerving sequel, The Look of Silence. This time, the director approaches the harrowing saga th...
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“Hector and the Search for Happiness”
What makes people happy? If you want a pleasant enough film to neatly present a response to the age-old complex question that isn’t answered with the number 42, look to Hector and the Search for Happiness. Hector (Simon Pegg) is a frazzled psychiatrist worn do...
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With A Little Help From Our Friends
On the latest edition of our weekly column: whiteness in coming-of-age stories and late night TV, Julia Roberts' career, the death of adulthood, and more.
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You’re Going to Lose that Girl, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them”
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them is not just a mouthful to say, but it's a heartbreak to watch. The movie is a Frankenstein monster from the depths of Dr. Weinstein 's lab, an executive order to stitch together the two separate movies of The Disappeara...
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With A Little Help From Our Friends
On the latest edition of our weekly series, we bring you links to stories about clickbait, the New Beverly Cinema, Forrest Gump, film school, and more.
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With A Little Help From Our Friends
In the latest edition of our weekly segment, Monica Castillo provides links to some of the best film and pop-culture writing around the web.
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