A Fantastic Woman movie review: the horror of grief denied
A quiet yet resolute portrait of bravery and resilience in the face of unconscionable bigotry, and distressingly moving. Specific yet universal, and wonderfully human.
Oscars
Icarus documentary review: on athletes’ compromised wings
Perfectly illustrative of the serendipitous nature of documentary filmmaking as it pivots from a personal investigation of doping in sports into a thriller with global geopolitical ramifications.
I’m on BBC World Service’s “The Arts Hour” again this Sunday, March 4th
We’ll be talking about Oscar nominees I, Tonya and Lady Bird, K-pop and superfandom, and a lot more.
November movie review: the woods are just trees, the trees are just wood
An all-style and very-little-substance exercise in random oddity and weird imagery. Dispenses with engaging characters and revels in its own meaninglessness as if emptiness were deep and significant.
Darkest Hour movie review: a surrender to open-and-shut history
A feature-length Oscar clip, two hours of Gary Oldman stomping around in a Winston Churchill suit. There’s too little drama and too much inevitability in what amounts to a reanimated Madame Tussaud’s waxwork scene.
things Hollywood men could have said at the Golden Globes
These will all work at the Oscars too! Feel free to steal ’em, guys.
The Fencer (Miekkailija) movie review: en garde against yourself
The true story of an Estonian sports hero offers a lovely twist on a familiar tale. A cinematic triumph from a nation that’s been missing from the global film stage.
at the 20th anniversary of ‘Titanic,’ where are all the knockoffs?
We should be absolutely sick to death of all the cash-ins, pseudo-remakes and imitators. Where are they?
A Murder in Mansfield documentary review: a reconciliation with tragedy (Doc NYC 2017)
An honest and brave portrait of the trauma and grief of those in the immediate periphery of a terrible crime. A simple, intimate film, and a powerful one.
Home Again movie review: imitation of life
Precious, fatuous, Nancy Meyers–lite rom-com about a privileged rich white lady with no real problems who can’t help but mom her much-younger new boyfriend. Barf.
