Movies that recreate a filmmaker’s own formative years are practically a genre unto themselves. Most awards seasons of late have had at least one in the conversation. (Lady Bird, Roma, and Belfast are some of the most lauded recent examples.) This year, there’s a whole slate of them. James Gray’s Armageddon Time looked at the […]
Read More Persistence Of Vision: ‘Empire Of Light’ & ‘The Fabelmans’Bad movies are a waste of time and money. But really, truly, exceptionally bad movies can be great entertainment — and, in their own way, transcend to high art. After all, passionate fans of truly terrible movies tend to be intelligent, or at least knowledgeable about pop culture. Such fandom requires us to be smarter […]
Read More How This Got Made: Hollywood’s Greatest ‘Disaster’Whether you’re a fan of former president George W. Bush or not, you have to admit his term contained some profound low points, kicking off with 9/11 and ending in a nasty recession. You may or may not blame Bush himself for these and other pieces of unfortunate Americana in the 21st century, but let’s […]
Read More ‘Jobs’ & ‘Homes’: Politics, Technology & Economy In America’s Recent Past“It’s HBO. Not that many people are gonna see it.”
Read More The Price Of Stardom: ‘The Comeback’ // “Valerie Gets What She Really Wants”“I don’t know what kind of candy you’re making, but I’m a coal miner!”
Read More No Good: ‘The Comeback’ // “Valerie Saves The Show”“I got you, Gingersnaps.”
Read More Network Jizz: ‘The Comeback’ // “Valerie Is Brought To Her Knees”Here’s the sad fact: the more $200 million blockbusters make their money back, the less we see studios willing to spend $20 million, or $10 million, or even a lousy $1 million on a smarter movie that’s aimed at a smaller audience. Thus, the independent’s revenge. If smaller, smarter movies want to be made, they […]
Read More The Best Revenge: ‘Blue Ruin,’ ‘Grand Piano,’ & ‘Neighbors’(Films discussed in this post: A Dangerous Method, 50/50, Cedar Rapids, Margin Call, The Perfect Host, The Guard, The Ides Of March, Horrible Bosses, Warrior.) In my post on “The Chicks,” I reflected on the ups and downs for females in film last year, from the ribald shenanigans of Bridesmaids to the slightly-less-ribald racial politics […]
Read More The Dicks: Bromances & Mantagonists Of 2011(Movies discussed in this post: War Horse, Attack The Block, X-Men: First Class, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Paul, Super 8, The Adventures Of Tintin.) From The Artist to Midnight In Paris to Hugo and a number of others, 2011 is a big year for nostalgia for all sorts of mainly things — but […]
Read More Yay Or Neigh?: Spielberg Ponies Up Two New Family Films
REAL NOBODY 