7 years ago
grid 10
“Rosewater”
Rosewater is at once everything and nothing like what we expect from The Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The title feels like a political watchword, and the film itself is a furious indictment of governmental oppression and human ignorance. It’s also blisteringly...
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Video Essay: Lessons from “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Do you have thirty minutes to spare? This isn't just like any thirty minutes, and, no, this is not Jordan Belfort trying to sell you on something. From the moral motivations and the moral depravities of Mr. Belfort to the specific techniques Martin Scorsese us...
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District Mined: The Gerrymandering of Contemporary Cinema
While concerned citizens and political journalists agonized over the fate of the Senate in the weeks leading up to the mid-term elections, there was a good reason no one was talking about the fate of the House: Due to the gerrymandering of Congressional distri...
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“The Homesman”
Stakes are high and conditions are hostile in Tommy Lee Jones’ contrastingly low-key and peaceable revisionist western The Homesman, which favors the storyline and dignified virtues of a brave frontierswoman in 19th-century Nebraska, over machismo and the law ...
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“Foxcatcher”
In the films of Bennett Miller, the truth is in the silence. The indelible image of Capote is of Philip Seymour Hoffman sitting forward in his seat, listening and trying to comprehend the mind of a murderer. In Moneyball, it's the silence around the scouting t...
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Blu-Ray Review: “Mon Oncle”
(Part of The Complete Jacques Tati)
Distributor: The Criterion Collection
Release Date: October 28, 2014
MSRP: $124.95
Order at Amazon
Film: A / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A-
Mon Oncle may be the second Hulot feature, but it’s the first to perfect th...
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“Nightcrawler” For You: How to Succeed at Capitalism Without Really Trying
Nightcrawler is supposedly about ethics in news journalism. To be more specific, the film is about the lack thereof. It’s allegedly similar to Network, Broadcast News, Ace in the Hole, and any number of films about journalists doing shady things or being force...
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“Interstellar”
Christopher Nolan has never been one for tearjerkers. As a filmmaker, he brings a technician’s focus to his work, laying out the parts he wants to use and methodically assembling his machine. His stories almost always involve loss or sorrow, but such emotions ...
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Wait Until Dark: 9 Unconventional Scary Movies
Watching horror movies is a standard and exciting Halloween tradition for many. But sometimes rewatching the same old films can get a little boring. You can certainly try to shake things up by watching something new or foreign, like Hausu or an early Cronenber...
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“Nightcrawler”
Meet Lou Bloom. He’s a young, ambitious go-getter, a diehard professional always on the lookout for good career opportunities that offer plenty of upward mobility. He’s also a charming psychopath, which is a nice way of saying that he’s a snake wrapped up in J...
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