|Matt Lambert| Too often in criticism, there is a lens from the future looking back at the past in judgement. To be clear, I’m struggling with that urge in reviewing The Night Porter. The 1974 film directed by Liliana Cavani examines the sadomasochistic relationship… Continue reading
|Penny Folger| The Museum of Home Video is an online streaming show that took flight during the pandemic and seems to have created an empire. Started by Los Angeleno film programmer/distributor Brett Berg, it takes place at museumofhomevideo.com at 7:30 pm PST most Tuesday evenings. Since its inception in July… Continue reading
|Luke Mosher| Béla Tarr’s slow cinema masterpiece Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) is a bleak and beautiful experience. It is exactly the kind of film that repertory theaters like Trylon were designed for. During the nearly 2.5 hour run time, you can’t check your phone or get distracted by your dog; you must sit in the theater and reckon with it… Continue reading
|Luke Mosher| György Fehér’s Twilight (1990) opens with an aerial shot over the forested Hungarian mountain Csóványos while an ambient song drones in the background like the hum of an airplane. On the ground below, two dark figures ride in the back… Continue reading
|Nick Kouhi| It’s easy to label Brian De Palma’s work as an extended exercise in voyeurism. But in a career spanning over half a century, the enfant terrible of the New Hollywood has transcended charges of Hitchockian pastiche with his perspicaciously (and…. Continue reading
|Yuval Klein| Three students and a chaperone at an all-girls college disappear during a field trip at Hanging Rock, an Australian former volcano that is 6.25 million years old. The repercussions and philosophical symbols entice viewers for the latter part of the film. Much of the film is… Continue reading
|Sophie Durbin| I first learned about Picnic at Hanging Rock from the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (which I’ve been glued to for two years) and was instantly intrigued. I finally saw it yesterday after several failed attempts on Youtube. On a visual level, the.. Continue reading
|Lucas Hardwick| Beware: Spoilers Ahead. Believe it or not, instead of earning money by writing for a living, I actually have a real, honest-to-God day job of the blue-collar persuasion where I recently found myself engaged in the spirited pastime of bitching about work with a colleague… Continue reading
|Michael Wellvang| There’s something about shopping that makes middle-aged men snap. Maybe it goes against the whole hunter-gatherer thing where men kill and women do everything else. There’s nothing to hunt for in a store. Going shopping implies you don’t already… Continue reading
|Bob Aulert| Fearless defies categorizing. It delves into the metaphysical while simultaneously following a plot that could neatly fit into a Made-for-TV movie. Its protagonist lives in a netherworld that is neither Life nor Death, misunderstood by most everyone… Continue reading
