Category Archives: Reviews

Computer Chess

Andrew Bujalski’s whispery, tiny-budget films are, to some, representations of a predominantly white, late-20’s, well-educated perspective on a nation that’s become equal parts pacifying and challenging to that exact demographic. Perhaps the expectations of such films come less from the … Continue reading

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Room 237

There’s a haunting simplicity to The Shining. Those words, combined with the director’s mysterious approach to discussing his films, makes this a work ripe for obsessives. The next gateway to obsession comes by way of accessibility. The Shining, dressed as … Continue reading

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Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers appears as a refreshing change for Harmony Korine, if only because for the first time in his strange filmmaking career, his battle of conspicuous storytelling tropes and self-aware naturalism collides in a way that adds up to something … Continue reading

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The Americans: COMINT + Trust Me

A rapidly unfolding spy thriller without a clear semblance of stakes and a spine of dynamic relationships without distinguished truth between characters, The Americans continues to be a surprising and challenging entry in cable TV. As numbers hover only a … Continue reading

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The Americans: Ep. 101 – 104

Like so many who were long excited for the show, I recently finished binge watching House of Cards. I’ve been less than compelled to talk about the show, think about the show, much less actually write about the show. And that … Continue reading

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Holy Grail: The State of Nonfiction

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71E_fbTzfFc%5D Lately, a number of people have approached me about a troubling trend in documentary films. Basically, there’s a sense that while documentaries have risen to prominence, so too has a lack of creativity and a somewhat lazy reliance on … Continue reading

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Stoker

The tradition of Southern Gothic literature runs like an avoided shadow along the peripheries of great American art. Unlike, say, the cinema renaissance of the 70s or the Gatsby explosion of the 20s or Pollack and Hemingway’s high brow acceptance … Continue reading

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Thoughts on ‘No’

The question posed to me after screening No, the Chilean film up for Best Foreign Film at this year’s Academy Awards, was whether the film is cynical by pointing out that masses of people could only be mobilized for social … Continue reading

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Will’s Favorite Films of 2012

I saw many solid films released in 2012. Of those, a few stand out a little bit more than the rest. Admittedly every film on my list is flawed in some way, yet there was at least one thing that … Continue reading

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REVIEW: The Last Stand

The most savvy choice director Kim Jee-woon made when approaching The Last Stand was to relegate Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback to the edges of the story. From a classic perspective the weight of the inevitable finale falls a little flat, seeing … Continue reading

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