8 years ago
All posts by Christopher Runyon
‘The Spectacular Now’: A Charming, Tender, and Deeply Resonant Coming-of-Age Tale
This review has been republished from our coverage of LAFF.
It's becoming more and more apparent that coming-of-age films have been reaching something of a renaissance period lately, with each consecutive year offering up at least one genuinely great entry...
Read more →
The David Lynch Retrospective: ‘The Straight Story’
The Movie Mezzanine Filmmaker Retrospective series takes on an entire body of work–be it director’s, screenwriter’s, or otherwise–and analyzes each portion of the filmography. By the final post of a retrospective, there will be a better understanding of the fi...
Read more →
The David Lynch Retrospective: ‘Lost Highway’
The Movie Mezzanine Filmmaker Retrospective series takes on an entire body of work–be it director’s, screenwriter’s, or otherwise–and analyzes each portion of the filmography. By the final post of a retrospective, there will be a better understanding of the fi...
Read more →
‘Fruitvale Station’: A Powerful and Wildly Imperfect Recreation of A Tragic Injustice
Republished and altered from our coverage of the 2013 LA Film Festival.
Reviewing a film like Fruitvale Station is challenging. Movies based on true stories are already hard enough to critique on a plot or character level, but when you're dealing with such...
Read more →
The David Lynch Retrospective: ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’
The Movie Mezzanine Filmmaker Retrospective series takes on an entire body of work–be it director’s, screenwriter’s, or otherwise–and analyzes each portion of the filmography. By the final post of a retrospective, there will be a better understanding of the fi...
Read more →
‘The Way, Way Back’ is Effortlessly Charming and Irresistibly Sweet
The Way, Way Back is an odd movie to critique. It’s an astoundingly sweet, lovable, immensely enjoyable little film that hits all the right notes as you’re watching it thanks to its excellent cast and sweet-natured humor. And yet, it isn't until further retros...
Read more →
The David Lynch Retrospective: ‘Wild At Heart’
The Movie Mezzanine Filmmaker Retrospective series takes on an entire body of work–be it director’s, screenwriter’s, or otherwise–and analyzes each portion of the filmography. By the final post of a retrospective, there will be a better understanding of the fi...
Read more →
LAFF Review: ‘Goodbye World’ is the First ‘Hipster Apocalypse’ Film
Goodbye World opens in a manner that promises a more interesting movie than it actually is. We're introduced to various characters all across the country receiving mysterious spam texts saying "Goodbye World". What they don't realize is that this is a mass-tex...
Read more →
LAFF Review: ‘Delivery’ is the Rare Horror Movie Where Nothing Happens
I can't remember for which movie it was for, but I fondly remember Francois Truffaut saying in an interview that he would make some movies just for the sole purpose of bringing one scene into existence; one scene that would "justify" the rest of the movie. Bri...
Read more →
LAFF Review: ‘You’re Next’ Lives Up to its Festival Hype
Before the film started, director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett introduced You're Next to the crowded theater by saying up front "We made this movie with the purpose of not making you feel like a horrible person when it ends. We want people to have fun...
Read more →
