Crooked Marquee — Page 221 of 247 — Delightfully unique (crooked) movie perspectives.

05/03/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider3 min read

REVIEW: You Were Never Really Here — or Maybe You Were and I Killed You with a Hammer

Some movies provide so much vivid detail about a character that you could practically write a biography. Lynne Ramsay’s mesmerizing You Were Never Really Here (based on Jonathan Ames’ novel) is a different sort of experience, immersing us in impressions and emotions while offering only glimpses of factual details. We never learn our protagonist’s last name […]

05/02/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider2 min read

REVIEW: Ismael’s Ghosts Are Metaphorical, But the Performances Are Good

There are no literal hauntings in Ismael’s Ghosts, a wry, lyrical, but often plodding drama from director Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale), only metaphorical ones. Freewheeling French filmmaker Ismael Vuillard (Mathieu Amalric), who shares Desplechin’s hometown of Roubaix, is in the process of simultaneously shooting and rewriting a new movie when he and his girlfriend, […]

04/30/201801/12/2019inMovies, Looking Backby Jeff Bayer6 min read

The Healing Power of Swingers

As college kids everywhere illegally stream or see Avengers: Infinity War in the theater, they might be looking pretty hard for the puffy guy — not Hulk or Thor but Happy Hogan. Iron Man’s lackey, played by Jon Favreau, didn’t make it to the Avengers party this time around, but don’t worry. You can find Favreau where he […]

04/30/201801/12/2019inMovies, Film Fests, On the Marqueeby Marshall Shaffer6 min read

Tribeca Report: High-Stakes Parenting

“She really is so hard on herself,” remarks a relative of the titular character in Kent Jones’ Diane. A gaggle of cousins have come to Diane’s rescue after a drink to unwind for self-care spirals into raging drunkenness. Diane can easily attend to the needs of others, but when it comes to treating her own […]

04/27/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider5 min read

REVIEW: Drastic Things Happen in Avengers: Infinity War That Definitely Won’t be Undone in Next Year’s Sequel (If Not Sooner)!!

You can go crazy trying to understand the thinking of people who make and sell Hollywood blockbusters, but what they’ve done with Avengers: Infinity War is fascinating. It was filmed concurrently with its own sequel (due 52 weeks from now), and the movies were first announced as Infinity War: Part 1 and Part 2. But at some […]

04/27/201801/12/2019inMovies, Film Fests, On the Marqueeby Caroline Madden7 min read

Tribeca Report: The Life of the Female Artist

In The Great Pretender, Mona (Maëlle Poesy-Guichard) insists that her autobiographical play is honest but her ex-boyfriend (Linas Phillips) says it’s “confessional.” “Is there a difference?” she asks. “Yeah, honesty is hard,” Nick replies, vocalizing a standout theme in the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival slate. This year, there are several portraits of female artists — […]

04/26/201801/12/2019inMovies, On the Marqueeby Marshall Shaffer8 min read

Lean on Pete and The Rider: Foreign Visions of a Diminished American West

Two new films released in April, Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete and Chloé Zhao’s The Rider, take place in the American West and contain plenty of obvious signifiers: rustic communities, wide open spaces, horses. Yet neither really feels like a Western. When I asked both directors (in separate interviews) if their films could be categorized […]

04/25/201801/12/2019inMovies, Looking Backby Peg Aloi7 min read

Lynne Ramsay and the Horror of the Everyday

In You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay continues to uphold her reputation for being an artist of uncompromising originality and skill. Despite only making four features in nearly two decades, the Scottish filmmaker’s work is studded with awards and accolades. Ramsay’s films are atmospheric, gritty, disturbing and strangely redemptive. They all seem linked by […]

04/24/201801/12/2019inMovies, Humor, Looking Backby Bill Bria14 min read

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Recapped By Bill’s Mom

Eighteen feature films, more than 40 major characters, 10 years of stories, six Infinity Stones: There’s a lot going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It may seem daunting to try and recall all that’s happened before the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War (the last chapter in this phase of the MCU), and if you’re […]

04/21/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider2 min read

REVIEW: Light Traffik Thinks It’s Heavy

You can tell Traffik is a serious movie about scary things because it’s spelled with a “k.” “Traffic,” who cares? But “traffik”?? Watch out! Written and directed by Deon Taylor (Meet the Blacks), this lurid, clumsy thriller is 30 minutes old before it gives any indication what it’s about — sex-trafficking — and even then, it […]

04/20/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider2 min read

REVIEW: Super Troopers 2 Not Great, But Good Enough for Meow

Experience has taught us not to get our hopes up about long-awaited sequels, especially sequels to films whose charms were obscure or quirky to begin with. (It’s hard enough to catch regular lightning twice, let alone cult-favorite lightning.) Super Troopers 2, a followup to comedy troupe Broken Lizard’s minor hit from 2002 about screwy Vermont […]

04/20/201801/12/2019inMovies, Reviewsby Eric D. Snider5 min read

REVIEW: I Feel Pretty; Witty and Bright, Less So

There are some good ideas and thoughtful insights buried in the very messy I Feel Pretty, a comedy about female self-image that is unsure of its own identity. Directed by screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the duo behind such mediocrities as Never Been Kissed, He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Be Single, […]