Sometimes plain luck steps in to finally get a dormant script filmed. Ari Aster wrote “Beau is Afraid” around 2010, but it was only the enormous success of “Joker” in 2020 that opened the way.The casting of “Joker” portrayer Joaquin Phoenix in the title role was what did the trick. Having seen both films, I […]
Made in 1965, when he was 26, “Fists In His Pocket” was Marco Bellochio’s first feature film. Having seen it recently on TCM, it is surprising that so few people have heard of it. It is raw, powerful and absorbing, and doesn’t seem dated at all. Even with frustrating flaws, it is an invigorating experience […]
The success of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” is peculiar in the sense of being more interesting than the film itself. And not all that interesting anyway, but I’ll try to get full value from it. But first, I’ll say that I’m not sorry I saw the film. There’s real pleasure there, even for for non-Elvis addicts […]
“The Menu” is a bracing satire about the class system, at least according to the long-held views of diehard leftists. But, dated as it is, the metaphor of capitalism as an elite restaurant ruled by a psychotic chef is surprisingly apt today. It was directed by Mark Mylod, written by Will Tracy and Seth Reiss. It […]
Alex Garland’s “Men”, released last year, offers a first hour of genuine chills and fun, and can be recommended. If the last half hour is a letdown, entirely due to its doomed function as explaining its preposterous premise, it is never less than watchable. We meet Harper, played by Jessie Buckley, who was so fine […]
“Red Rocket” is writer-director Sean Baker’s follow-up to 2017’s “The Florida Project” (reviewed 10/1/2018). Like the earlier film, it is a funny, canny examination of a select group of Americans losers, but with a more complex, and stronger, story line. Obviously, Baker is more confident now. The protagonist is Mikey (Simon Rex), a tall, well-toned dropout […]
Martin McDonagh’s latest film, “The Banshees of Inisherin“, represents a departure for him, as well as his fans. It is more personal, and darker, than anything of his I’ve seen before. And, inevitably, it influences our memory of his previous work. Still, he is as nimble as ever. The darkness creeps in slowly, but all […]
In “Tar”, the new film written and directed by Todd Field, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tar, an internationally renowned orchestra conductor (or “Maestra”). She is adored by music lovers, but also progressives everywhere, especially the young, who look upon her as a champion of women’s rights in the male-dominated canon of Western culture. Blanchett’s overwhelming […]
I only recently caught this 2017 dark comedy to build on my taste for Aubrey Plaza, now a confirmed indie queen. Her very oddness is what makes her fascinating, and she has been choosing her projects with that in mind. Certainly “Ingrid Goes West” relies on that: the title character is a trainwreck of a […]
“The Card Counter” is Paul Schrader’s follow-up to his superb “First Reformed”, and it continues his thought-provoking and sincere exploration of guilt in contemporary America. As with Ethan Hawke in the previous film, he has found the ideal actor for the lead role in Oscar Isaac. Similarly, the climactic scene is truly shocking, a totally […]
