Month: January 2017

the-salesman-movie

The Salesman ★★★★

Asghar Farhadi’s ability to so scrupulously dissect the nature of humanity is one of the best things one can see in a movie theater these days. 2012’s A Separation was a masterpiece of tension, a bitingRead Full Review

julieta-movie

Julieta ★★★½

The coupling of legendary Oscar-winning Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and Nobel Prize-winning Canadian short story writer Alice Munro might seem surprising on paper, but not when you get the chance to see Julieta. Both are suchRead Full Review

moonlight-awards

The JC Awards 2016

Best Director Gold: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Silver: Ezra Edelman, O.J.: Made in America Bronze: Trey Edwards Shults, Krisha Best Actor Gold: Viggo Mortenson, Captain Fantastic Silver: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea Bronze: SIX-WAY TIE: Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders andRead Full Review

the-red-turtle

The Red Turtle ★★★

Studio Ghibli has been fascinating audiences for decades, mostly as the main export of Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki. Ghibli is usually synonymous with excellence within Japanese animation, but The Red Turtle comes from Dutch animatorRead Full Review

toni-edrmann-movie

Toni Erdmann ★½

I find myself completely baffled by Toni Erdmann. What can one say about a comedy that sits at 162 minutes and isn’t funny? The film follows a father named Winfried (Peter Simonischek), divorced and reeling afterRead Full Review

neruda-movie

Neruda ★★★½

As I watched Pablo Larraín’s Neruda, I was reminded of two releases from the end of 2016: Jackie and Paterson. Jackie was also a film by Larraín and, like Neruda, also a biopic (about Jacqueline Kennedy) that played with the mythologyRead Full Review

silence-movie

Silence ★★★

Say what you will about Martin Scorsese, and whether or not he still has his fastball, there are still very few directors making studio films on a large scale about harsh, complicated issues. Silence is obviouslyRead Full Review

hidden-figures-movie

Hidden Figures ★★★

Hidden Figures is a cinematic exercise in sincere good-heartedness. It’s a film that wants to be about race but never wants to risk actually challenging the racial dynamics of its audience. It’s safe and isRead Full Review

paterson-movie

Paterson ★★½

Paterson, New Jersey has a rich history with poetry, including being home to Allen Ginsburg and William Carlos Williams. Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson is an ode to the poetry of life, told through the life of aRead Full Review