Author Archive
Film Review – The Queen of Versailles
When the wealthy are profiled in the media, it is often to show the quirkiness of their personalities—seeing them act like they are normal even when their world is so different from regular people is interesting. We laugh at the ridiculousness of how they act,…
READ MOREFilm Review – Bel Ami
The ruthless cad who makes his way through the world manipulating and ruining people without a care: this character is as timeless as the gritty private eye or the all-American hero. The problem is that he is also the easiest character to phone in, with…
READ MOREFilm Review – Trishna
Taken from the classic book Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, by Thomas Hardy, Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna (2011) tries to put a modern spin on this story, but seems to have gotten it mixed up in the translation. Trishna (Freida Pinto) is…
READ MOREFilm Review – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Beasts of the Southern Wild is a film that allows itself to be a powerful character study while simultaneously being full of abstract ideas and big concepts of community and family, never being overt, but simply letting it all wash over you and simmer. Coming…
READ MOREFilm Review – Where Do We Go Now?
When it comes to religious tensions, there are two ways to approach the topic on film—either by showing the ways tensions tear society apart, or by using humor to show the ridiculousness of the situation. Both tactics have merits, and have worked in films from…
READ MOREFilm Review – Polisse
The new film Polisse is not a masterpiece, but the dedication to this story from the director and screenwriter, Maïwenn, makes for an interesting look at the work of the CPU (Child Protective Unit). Maïwenn places us right in the middle of these cops’ lives,…
READ MOREFilm Review – A Cat in Paris
A Cat in Paris is a delightfully animated tale that keeps you entertained the whole way through. When the Academy Award nominations were announced last year for Best Animated Feature, I was thrilled that A Cat in Paris and Chico and Rita were nominated. I…
READ MOREFilm Review – Hipsters
Where there is a system telling people to act a certain way, there are always those who will embrace the system and those who will rebel. In the Russian musical film Hipsters (2008), from director Valeriy Todorovskiy, Mels (Anton Shagin) is one who is within…
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