8 years ago
All posts by Alexander Huls
A Tranquil, Cinematic Home
Alex Huls explores the sense of place evident in the new Kenneth Lonergan film "Manchester By The Sea."
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How M. Night Shyamalan Lost His Place In The Cinematic World
There was a time when M. Night Shyamalan was not a joke: when each new film of his didn’t offer a better punch line; when you were sure something like the trailer for his latest film, The Visit, wasn’t meant to be funny; when his name wasn’t literally laughabl...
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Five Ways Robin Williams Changed My Life
The role of a teacher, in Dead Poets Society, always struck me as a perfect one for Robin Williams. After all, what is a teacher—like an actor—but someone whose gift finds its natural habitat in front of attentive observers, practiced within the rigidity of on...
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History of Film: ‘Jaws’
There's a single moment in Jaws that reveals why the film remains so much more memorable than most modern blockbusters.
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History of Film: Steven Spielberg’s ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
“What’s your favorite movie?” tends to be a haphazard, superficial question. We tend to answer superficially in kind: a quick title drop followed by some general qualifications. It’s always felt like a disservice to the objects of our cinematic affections beca...
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Remembering James Gandolfini (1961-2013)
We tend to want to remember our greatest actors for their “big” moments – ones ripened with dramatic stakes and acted out with a heightened, sometimes histrionic, intensity. Dishes flying, spittle projecting, jaws practically unhinging beneath the force of a y...
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The Thematic Preoccupations of M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan’s name has literally become laughable. A director once anointed as a promising auteur, has now had many revoke that status from him. In the words of Nick Schager’s recent piece at The Village Voice, Shyamalan is now seen by many as “just ano...
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The Cycles of History in Jeff Nichols’ Thought-Provoking Films Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter
“This started a long time ago,” Son (Michael Shannon) says in Jeff Nichols’ Shotgun Stories, evoking one of the many thematic through-lines in the director’s first two films. Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter are all built upon things that started a long time a...
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10 Movie Franchises Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Could Improve
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has developed a habit of stepping into established series/franchises. He’s become – as director John M. Chu puts it – “franchise Viagra.” Between this week’s G.I. JOE: Retaliation, Fast Five, The Mummy Returns, and Journey 2: The Myst...
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