Archive | March, 2017

Song to Song Review

17 Mar

“As I walk along, I wonder

A-what went wrong with our love

A love that was so strong”

There’s an ebb and flow to life and love. There are the hedonistic, weightless highs, the moments when you dance like there’s nobody watching and playfully chase each other around your apartment. There are the uncertain lows, the moments when you question what it is you’ve gotten yourself into and whether or not you can figure it out. Song to Song is a beautifully exhausting attempt to wade through that thicket, an attempt because that’s what Malick has made a career out of: carving out a spiritual and creative journey in which solutions come secondary to the transcendent highs achieved in the process. His newest project does reach some of those highs, but it definitely loses its way the longer it runs. Though the introduction of new characters and relationships stays true to the transient nature of life, it doesn’t quite anchor a story that’s more plot and character based than one might expect. Malick can be tedious in a good way, but the opposite is true as well.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Personal Shopper Review

13 Mar

Kristen Stewart’s character has an interesting relationship with the camera in Personal Shopper. She’s at one point subdued, reserved, the camera lingering on the mundanity of her movements and watching as she slides into the shadows while still in plain sight. She’s at one point anxious, terrified to her core, not only because of the supernatural happenings around her but also because of what sees in herself. She’s at one point naked, physically and emotionally, grappling with the past and feeling immense guilt about her future. It’s an excellent performance and a fascinating illustration of grief, and Stewart is thoroughly able to handle everything she is asked to do.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kong: Skull Island Review

11 Mar

There are very few things that I respect more than a movie that is unafraid to embrace its own stupidity. Kong: Skull Island has thinly written characters, extreme tonal dissonance, and a complete and utter disregard for the talents of Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson, but it’s absolutely glorious in its brazen spectacle. Its thin characters and tonal dissonance don’t matter as much because it thoroughly commits to its premise, and it seems like the movie is one ridiculous–but hilarious–visual gag after another. It’s not trying to be something it’s not, and that’s something I appreciate in any movie, especially a nostalgia-laced B-movie blockbuster about a giant ape.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Raw Review

7 Mar

Raw occasionally loses itself trying to say everything it wants to say, but it is undoubtedly an audacious (and quite witty) project that is never not interesting to watch. When it works, it works beautifully, and several moments in the film are early contenders for best scene of the year; the final scene in particular is brilliant and has a killer ending line. The score by Jim Williams and the directing from newcomer Julia Ducournau are top notch, and as sisters in the film, Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf do a hell of a job selling the emotional through line of the script. The film takes us through an examination of identity, burgeoning sexuality, addiction, freedom, and the line between man and animal, but at the end of the day, it’s a story about two sisters and their love for each other. This isn’t a cannibalism movie. It’s a story about humanity filtered through a fairly ridiculous setup, and it works.

GRADE: B+

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,