9 years ago
Theatrical (10 posts found)
Coming to a theater near you
“Borgman” Is Your New Favorite Bogeyman
In a house in the woods, a man with a dog puts on his shoes and strides out the door. Nearby, a man with an axe joins the man with the dog. The man with the dog and the man with the axe enter a church and lock eyes with the priest, who is just exiting the rect...
Read more →
“The Rover” Is A Road Trip That Goes Nowhere
His hair caked with blood and dirt, face covered with a spiky, unkempt beard and head circled with buzzing horseflies, Guy Pearce's character in The Rover looks almost identical to his Western gunslinger in John Hillcoat's 2005 film The Proposition. Sub gang l...
Read more →
“Evergreen: The Road to Legalization” Barely Scratches The Surface of Marijuana Legalization
Surprise, surprise: a documentary that chronicles political maneuverings to legalize marijuana in Washington state plays it mellow. For 80 minutes, Riley Morton's new film, Evergreen: The Road to Legalization, tries admirably to avoid taking the rah-rah road a...
Read more →
“Manuscripts Don’t Burn” Worthy of Support In Spite of Its Problems
I couldn't quite jibe with Manuscripts Don't Burn, but I'm glad it exists. In fact, this film deserves support, even though it's rattled by not-insignificant flaws. Director Mohammad Rasoulof is one of many Iranian filmmakers currently experiencing the squeeze...
Read more →
“The Rover” Just Another Rusty, Uninspired Dystopian Picture
I think we need to declare a moratorium on post-apocalyptic stories. Or at least, maybe artists should have to get special permission to make them, via a rigorous pitch process through which they demonstrate that they have something new to bring to the table. ...
Read more →
“22 Jump Street” Is Madcap Art And Product At The Same Time
We don’t know why Edgar Wright was dismissed from Marvel’s Ant-Man, despite all the clicks that newswire writers have churned out of it, but one generalized explanation seems undeniable: whatever Mr. Wright was interested in making wasn’t enough of a sellable ...
Read more →
“Elena” Experiments With The Documentary Form To Encouraging Effect
Director Petra Costa has taken the documentary as personal investigation in a new direction with Elena, which is heavily infused with the influence of her acknowledged idol, Chris Marker. Oneiric and kaleidoscopic, the film shuffles symbolic imagery into its p...
Read more →
“Citizen Koch” A Political Documentary That’s Not Angry Enough
“Money is a weapon,” says Buddy Roemer, a Republican candidate running in the 2012 presidential elections who was never invited to take part in the GOP debates throughout his candidacy. One main reason for Roemer, known for his opposition to the unrestricted f...
Read more →
“The Signal” Sacrifices Storytelling Logic For Striking Visuals
In the last few years, a number of filmmakers have, intentionally or not, used their first feature as a kind of calling card to bigger and (hopefully) better things. Josh Trank directed Chronicle, a film whose success allowed him to get hired as the director o...
Read more →
“Hellion” Is Merely As Generic As Its Title
One of the few consolations of a beloved television series going off the air is seeing where the members of its cast wind up next. For five white-knuckle seasons, AMC’s Breaking Bad was a prime showcase for Aaron Paul, who, over the course of the series, grew ...
Read more →
