Directed by Kogonada. Written by Kogonada, based on the short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang” from the book Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein. First thing’s first: Colin Farrell’s voice is perfectly suited for the gentle, velvety ease of a Benjamin Loeb-shot Kogonada film. My goodness. The bombastic, brightly colored Dance Competition opening […]
Directed by Joachim Trier. Written by Trier & Eskil Vogt. Original (Norwegian) title: “Verdens verste menneske.” Set in Oslo, the film begins with a focus on Julie (Renate Reinsve) – a young woman who goes through 3 career interests in rapid succession (each accompanied by a new hairstyle & man/relationship): medical doctor, therapist (theologist?), & […]
Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay by Luhrmann, Jeremy Doner, Sam Bromell, & Craig Pearce, story by Luhrmann & Doner. I love the film’s bedazzledly ornate intro graphics (those are gorgeously executed) – but otherwise, the beginning to this movie is weird as shit. Quick flashes of snowman paraphernalia??? What the fuck is this decision? Because […]
Directed by Lila Neugebauer. Written by Ottessa Moshfegh, Luke Goebel, & Elisabeth Sanders. Jennifer Lawrence plays Lynsey, a veteran rehabbing a traumatic brain injury sustained while on deployment to Afghanistan. Her first stop, post-hospital, is to the home & care of angel-hearted rehab volunteer Sharon (Jayne Houdyshell) – and after an undisclosed number of months, […]
Written & directed by Martin McDonagh. It’s taken me awhile to write this post, because this is a complicated film to talk about – and articulating the feeling with which it leaves you seems nearly impossible, based on the conflicting layers of emotions provoked by the fates of all the characters, & the fact that […]
Directed by Jane Campion. Screenplay also by Campion, based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage. Montana, 1925. After some introductory cow squabbling – there’s an immediate visual reference to THE SEARCHERS (1956), in the form of an inside-looking-outside, reverse-silhouette doorway shot. THE SEARCHERS is definitely not a favorite movie of mine (I hold an […]
Directed by Pablo Larraín. Written by Steven Knight. Introductory title: “A Fable From a True Tragedy.” I like this phrasing a lot. The film opens on Christmas Eve, at the Royal, countryside Sandringham Estate – and covers three days of holiday festivities, imagined to have taken place in 1991. The Queen (Stella Gonet) travels with […]
Directed & written by Lee Isaac Chung, based – in part – on his own childhood experiences. The film opens with a family driving through rural farmland – specifically, a car closely following behind a moving truck – and the first thing that pops into my mind is, ‘Why is it so quiet? Where is […]
Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by Jack Fincher (yes, the above-mentioned David’s father). My earliest thought on this film is that the background music is too constant – and the sound of the dialogue not nearly crisp enough, over this – for all of the words being said to be properly absorbed & understood. I […]
Directed by Autumn de Wilde. Screenplay by Eleanor Catton, based on the novel by (duh) Jane Austen. Right from the start, it’s apparent that the set designer, costume designer, and production designer nailed their respective tasks. The color palette is both beautiful & appropriate – and the attention to detail is also clearly marvelous. (Further – […]
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