Sprawling cinematic stories of drug abuse and crime sprees are nothing new. Martin Scorsese has honed this subgenre of brittle masculinity and confessional narration throughout his long career, and many others have tried to ascend to his platform for storytelling. Cherry never quite climbs to that rank, but it is an empathetic look at one […]
Few things are as American as tales of immigrants pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and making a life through hard work and sacrifice. For better or worse, our national penchant for embracing this narrative is hard to deny. Initially, Minari may seem like one of those all-too-familiar sagas—but Lee Isaac Chung’s keen eye for […]
Whether they are willing to admit it or not, all documentaries make an argument. Michael Moore is never shy about voicing his opinions, while at the other end of the spectrum, Ken Burns frames his work as recording history. Some Kind of Heaven, the debut work from Lance Oppenheim, never shouts its thoughts from rooftops, […]
Saying that this year has been an anomaly is a comical understatement. So much of our daily life has been uprooted and, to mirror our own bodies, movies were not immune from these changes either. Before we start writing eulogies for Cinema with a capital “C” and discussing the fall of the multiplex, it is […]
Ammonites are fossils that are used to mark geologic time. Resembling the spirals that contain the golden ratio, they are ripe for parable and illustration. The film Ammonite, from writer/director Francis Lee, tries to capture that depth of meaning, but much like its namesake fossil, it is common and unexceptional. The film holds fossils at […]
A new relationship during the holidays is a recipe for hilarity and high jinks. There’s meeting the family, heavily enforced traditions, and all sorts of other religious and historical wrenches to throw into the spokes of what could be cozy couple time. Happiest Season takes on all of these elements, plus the added layer of […]