The 10 Best Biopics with Bite
Let me tell you the story of my life. I experienced a single traumatic/inspirational childhood event that—without my knowledge—shaped my entire existence. I struggled to find my own particular brand of […]
Samsara, Baraka, Etcetera
There are shots in Samsara (’12) of places you can’t believe exist on Earth, like the stone temples in the jungles of Myanmar that look like a CGI landscape from […]
I’ll Be Damme’d
Friday night was the monthly Midnites for Maniacs screening. In case you aren’t lucky enough to live in San Francisco, or if you live here but are just too foolish […]
Killing Them Softly, but not Subtly
Is it possible for a film to be obtuse and heavy-handed simultaneously? Hold that thought. Let’s consider. I just came back from Andrew Dominik‘s third feature, Killing Them Softly, starring Brad […]
Star Trek Into The Darkness of The Star Wars Prequels?
Star Trek Into Darkness, with no colon in there, because it’s stupider this way, will be demolishing movie theaters next summer. Is it next summer? It’s sometime. I think we’re […]
The 20 Best Double Features
Desperately craving a double feature? This list of 20 guaran-damn-teed, 100%-satisfying double bills will make you wish every evening was Saturday night and your eyes were made of interstellar diamonds.
Queen Bitch Double Feature: Them! / Aliens
Sometimes that’s just how the story goes. Giant rampaging insectoids threaten to decimate a community. The only way to stop them, of course, is a good old fashioned dose of […]
Upstream Color: Plasma Head Fusion
I just hope that pig is okay. Or tasty.
…Reflections On Dead Man…
…An acid western, a revisionist western, a post-modern western, the western Tarkovsky never made, Jim Jarmusch’s masterpiece, Dead Man (’95), has been dubbed many things. It is best not to […]
Silver Linings Playbook; Cloudy with Bright Spots
I’ve been thinking lately about nuance. About shades of grey. It started with a comment-tiff I had with folks over at Bad Ass Digest. I suggested an alternative viewpoint to […]
“I Am The Motherfucking Shore Patrol!” Hal Ashby And The Last Detail
The Last Detail (’73), director Hal Ashby’s follow-up to Harold & Maude, is a mysteriously compelling little movie. There’s not a dull moment in it, yet nothing happens. Ashby and […]
Mind Control Double Feature #19: 1980s Film Noir
Film noir isn’t all 1940s, black hats, deep shadows, back-stabbing women, desperate criminals, and the hopeless futility of trying to escape one’s fate. It’s mostly that, which is why film […]
Quentin Tarantino is not as Cool as Male Strippers
I just watched Magic Mike, Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature. This is a film about male strippers that stars Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer. It was the only one of Soderbergh’s films […]
Wreck It Ralph: About as Funny as Pong
In order to tear something down, first you must build. Otherwise, there’s no loss, no drama. Wreck It Ralph took a by-the-numbers plot and over-gilded it with in-jokes, asides, and […]