Foreign
An Appreciation – 8½
All art – at a certain level – is a reflection of ego. Film might be the most powerful example of this idea. Through image and sound, we see an artist’s thoughts, feelings, fears, desires, and hidden secrets illuminated on the screen. We see the…
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An Appreciation – Chungking Express
There are few filmmakers who can capture the feeling of longing the way Wong Kar Wai does. Throughout his career, WKW has consistently revisited the ways in which people come together or fall apart. His characters are constantly moving, interacting or separating, or barely missing…
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Film Review – Another Round
Four guy friends – all high school teachers – gather for dinner to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of their own. The night begins regularly, with each of them engaging in idle chit chat. Things take a turn when we learn that all four share…
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Film Review – #Alive
The South Korean horror film #Alive (2020) contains just about all the usual tropes of the zombie apocalypse subgenre. This is both a good and bad thing. One on hand, there’s just enough entertainment value to make it worth watching. If you’re looking for something…
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Film Review – Mulan (2020)
The Disney money train rolls on. After numerous delays due to the Covid pandemic, Disney’s live action Mulan (2020) has finally rolled out through their streaming platform, Disney+. The troubled release schedule along with the company’s pricing decision (currently, you can only watch it by…
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Film Review – Sputnik
On the surface, Sputnik (2020) has similarities with other science fiction films involving humans coming into contact with non-Earth beings. Hailing out of Russia, its approach will call to mind Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) or maybe Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016). What the writing (Oleg Malovichko,…
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Film Review – The Hater
Tomasz (Maciej Musialowski) is an enigma. On the outside he seems like a polite and well-adjusted young man. He dresses in a buttoned-up shirt, tie, vest, and overcoat. At dinner parties he’ll bring a gift and will ask about people in a way that doesn’t…
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Film Review – I’m No Longer Here
Now available on Netflix, I’m No Longer Here (Ya no estoy aqui, 2020) tells the story of identity and how it is shaped and changed through age, experience, and cultural surroundings. Written and directed by Fernando Frias, there is a rich sense of place as…
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