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Shakespeare movie adaptations are hard. Due to the contrast between the heightened nature of the classical dialogue and the more grounded language of film it’s incredibly difficult to get them right. There are truly faithful film versions of the plays, like those made by Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier, but they can feel stuffy and […]
The 1961 film version of West Side Story has been viewed for decades as an untouchable classic. Meticulously presenting the music and choreography made famous by the groundbreaking Broadway show, the Best Picture winner effectively captures a specific moment of cultural change happening in New York City’s West Side at the end of the Eisenhower […]
The new Netflix movie Tick, Tick… Boom! is a very unusual biopic. Typically biographical dramas focus on the successes of their subjects. This movie… not so much. In the winter of 1990, struggling composer Jonathan Larson suffered an existential crisis on the eve of his 30th birthday. Having spent years crafting his first full-length musical, […]
Chloé Zhao’s movies are beautiful. They feature incredible photography of natural landscapes, and ultra-naturalistic dialogue often delivered by non-actors cast off the street. Her films are deeply meditative and authentic and have the capacity to really touch audiences who are open to a different kind of movie. It made perfect sense that she swept last […]
The Paranormal Activity franchise was a pop-culture phenomenon for the first half of the 2010s. The release of a new Paranormal Activity was essentially an annual tradition, as the series churned out sequels nearly every October. It reinvigorated the found-footage genre, and in doing so, made a killing at the box office. Its star faded […]
There are certain films that are difficult to write about without ruining them. It’s easy to explain your thoughts on a final reel twist if your audience is fine with explicit spoilers. But then there are films you don’t want to spoil. Stories with endings you want to discuss but can’t. Surprise twists and turns […]
Wes Anderson is a subgenre unto himself. From Rushmore to Moonrise Kingdom, the quirky auteur’s films are so uniformly meticulous and bizarre that they could not be mistaken for anyone else’s work. Regardless of the individual movie’s specific genre or plot, Anderson has consistently brought the same style and tone to all his films. His […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The leaves are falling, pumpkins are being carved, and knife-wielding maniacs are stalking their way through small suburban towns. Yes, the long-awaited, long-delayed newest installment in the Halloween franchise is finally in theaters and on Peacock this weekend, delivering all the gory thrills horror fans long for […]
I have never been a part of a crowd so still and on edge as the audience for the new film Mass. I had the privilege of attending the Washington DC premiere of the movie (out this weekend in the US) where the tension in the theater was palpable. We were all there to share […]
I am an unashamed fan of movie musicals. If your film is at all cohesive and features sequences of the characters singing and dancing, chances are I’m gonna be on board. Honestly, a movie musical has to really drop the ball or misinterpret its source material in order for me to not be on its […]