Movies Archives — Page 9 of 27

02/26/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Craig J. Clark7 min read

21st Century Maddin: Emerging from the Fog

As his 65th birthday approaches, a survey of the work of the enigmatic Canadian filmmaker, currently on display over at the Criterion Channel.

02/23/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Marshall Shaffer7 min read

Bifurcating Bahrani: A Defense of the Filmmaker’s Moral Dramas

The filmmaker’s first two features join the Criterion Collection this week, but two of his later films have been dismissed as lesser efforts. Not so fast.

02/15/202103/02/2024inLooking Back, Moviesby Josh Bell7 min read

A Nightmare Wakes and the Frustrating History of Mary Shelley Movies

Shudder’s new “A Nightmare Wakes” is the latest attempt to bring the real story of Frankenstein’s creator to the screen – and, once again, it’s a big miss. What keeps going wrong?

02/05/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Zach Vasquez6 min read

Uncanny Valleys, Cognitive Dissonance, and Eldritch Terror: The Documentaries of Rodney Ascher

The documentarian’s latest, ‘A Glitch in the Matrix,’ further cements his distinctive style – and recurring areas of interest.

01/27/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Roxana Hadadi9 min read

John Lee Hancock and the Practicality of Non-Auteur Cinema

The ‘Little Things’ writer and director has had, to put it mildly, an uneven career. But is there some method to its madness? An investigation:

01/25/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Chelsea Spear10 min read

“If I Could Change, Anybody Could”: Arts in Prisons, in Documentary Film

A group of recent documentaries examine the impact of arts programs in prisons, and the questions those programs raise about incarceration itself.

01/20/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Marshall Shaffer8 min read

Thoughts on a Biden-Era Cinema

As the new president takes the oath, we wonder: what films indicated the kind of leader America would look for in this new era?

01/19/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Josh Bell5 min read

Homefront, Disposable Action, and the Netflix Effect

Why do throwaway action thrillers like ‘Homefront,’ ‘Braven,’ ‘Peppermint,’ and ‘Triple 9’ keep topping the Netflix charts? We have theories.

01/12/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Audrey Fox8 min read

Beyond Citizen Kane: Getting to Know the Real Marion Davies

The silent film star was unfairly maligned by ‘Kane,’ and is seen as a figure of sympathy in ‘Mank.’ But who was Marion Davies, really?

01/04/202103/02/2024inMoviesby Zach Vasquez10 min read

A Bunch of Seedy, Squalid Bastards Playing Cowboys and Indians: The Essential Spy Cinema of John le Carré

The British novelist, who died late last year, leaves a legacy of film adaptations that jettison the girls and gizmos of Bond in favor of complex characterizations and world-weary cynicism.