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The Post
Is there any director with a more impressive filmography than Steven Spielberg? He defined our childhood, explored every genre, invented the blockbuster, and delivered masterpieces worthy of any top ten list. His work is legendary, and he’s not done yet. The Post is Spielberg’s 31st time behind the director’s chair. And this time, he’s got…
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Coco
Pixar’s latest is a masterpiece of animation and storytelling with it’s characteristic warmth and humor wrapped in a no-cliches, culturally-specific narrative. The story takes place in Mexico, features an all-Latino cast, fluidly switches between Spanish and English, and introduces cultural elements that will be unfamiliar to white audiences — often with no narrative explanation. In…
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A Christmas Carol (1951)
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The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Holiday movies are often based around the importance of family and the simple truth that family is often more dysfunctional than we’d like. Consider A Christmas Story or It’s a Wonderful Life and the discontent drawn from family relationships therein. Or if you prefer, look no further than a more modern offering such as Christmas…
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Black Girl
“Some boomerang, this story,” an inspector observes, in the novella Black Girl by Ousmane Sembéne, which he adapted for film. I won’t reveal the scene of the crime, but the inspector might as well be speaking of Sembéne’s story, and may be, in the way authors often delegate such meta-tasks to the characters. Black Girl…
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The Shape of Water
You’d be forgiven for writing off Guillermo del Toro as just another genre director. Entries like Hellboy, Blade Runner II, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak fit neatly in that vein. But if you really want to uncover del Toro’s heart, look no further than 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth. The film has been described as an “adult…
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
As the title states, there are 3 billboards outside the fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri. They work in concert with each other, the blood red background and white lettering impossible to miss amongst the greens and grays of the hilly terrain. Each has its own distinct message, but only one stokes the ire of the…
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
I’ve noticed that, when it comes to any art form, classification and genre are more important that you would think. We might be at a time when people eschew labels for things like relationships and spirituality, but being able to put things into categories still matters when it comes to our entertainment. While they may…
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Suburbicon
Suburbicon’s depiction of the 1950’s portrays an iconic American vision beneath the subterfuge of which lie corruption and moral decay. An uneven blend of social commentary and pulp fiction, the film attempts to connect two unrelated narratives by employing the visual motif of a fence that separates the homes of Gardner Lodge and Mr. and…
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The Trouble with Angels
