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“The piercing realism that canāt be faked strikes you hardest in Pariah. You can sense it in the script and direction by Dee Rees, you can sense it in Adepero Oduyeās central performance, in Kim Wayans and Charles Parnellās supporting work. It just drips from every frame of Pariah. Ā You cou” read more
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
“Yes, for all of the likeable work that Steve Carell and Keira Knightley put into their lead performances thereās still a remarkable lack of chemistry between them. Yes, the end of the world setting is merely a means to shove them together in a romance that would otherwise never occur, got it. And ” read more
“Youāve got some serious artistic hubris if youāre willing to stick Robert De Niro behind a yellow cab and reference one of his most iconic works, and Being Flynn cannot compare to Martin Scorseseās sweaty, paranoid Taxi Driver. That was a work of pure daring, an evocationĀ of numerous western” read more
“Indie dramadies about softhearted curmudgeons befriending adorable, precocious moppets is a genre that produces more duds than gems. Case in point: St. Vincent, Bill Murrayās entry in that much-abused genre finds him saddled with babysitting a tween that feels like the embryonic version of Jason S” read more
“The Pretenders had released four albums by the time their first compilation, Singles, hit the shelves in 1987, and itās a testament to their unique and enduring spin on classic rock. Chrissie Hynde brought a feminine mystique to the classic cock rock sound. From their self-titled debut through 198” read more
“Ten years separated the first film and this sequel. The only shocking thing about that factoid is that it took so long. Never mind that the musical sequences rarely had anything to do with the plot, or that the actors couldnāt sing (for the most part), or that much of it was shoddily made, filmed,” read more
“Thereās all the ingredients for something twee ā a storybook aesthetic, a curmudgeon and an orphan bonding, and itās based on a series of Belgian childrenās books ā yet Ernest & Celestine is a warm, lovely little piece of misfits bonding over their shared love of art. They operate outs” read more
“The emotional trauma of the transition from childhood to adulthood is the bread and butter of Pixarās films. Donāt believe me? Look at Toy Story 3, Inside Out, or Braveās exploration of the painful growths required to move to the next phase of life or deal with a big change. Finding Dory adher” read more
“Charming and frustrating in near equal amounts, A Monster in Paris is a likeable animated trifle that tries to find equilibrium between laughs, scares, and musical interludes. Think of it as a baby proof Phantom of the Opera mixed with bits of the Universal Monsters franchise and King Kong. Itās a” read more
“Movies based on video games are a rough subgenre to find yourself watching. Theyāre often incapable of deciding whether they want to straight up adapt the video game franchise, function as their own story, or occupy some strange middle ground between the two. Ratchet & Clank winds up being one” read more
“The Daughter of Dawn is more of a historical curiosity then it is a successful movie. Populated entirely by Native American actors, The Daughter of Dawn is one of the few dramatic westerns that places them within the heroic and romantic contexts and not as the unseen other descending upon the routin” read more
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
“Cloying in the extreme, not just for the ways it exploits a tragedy but for the myriad of ways it treats its protagonist as a bundle of quirks and not as an actual character, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the crassest of Oscar bait. Shameless in its extraction of tears and manipulation of e” read more
“Cherās return to dance music, a decision she expressed indifference towards in the run-up to the albumās release, is something of a generic affair on Believe. She sings any olā piece of crap thrown before her like her life depends on it, which means sheās a good diva but it also leads to a s” read more
“ABBAās never shied away from compilation albums, and if the two-disc The Definitive Collection is too expensive or too overwhelming a selection then Gold: Greatest Hits is the single-disc collection to own. At nineteen songs, this is the best of the best of the best of ABBAās impressive run of s” read more
The Singles: The First Ten Years
“The best vinyl-era greatest hits release of the Scandinavian quartet is twenty-three songs of pop excellence. Released in November 1982, ABBA would disband in December but what a swan song to go out on! The Singles: The First Ten Years represents the group's various transitions: from vivacious kitsc” read more
“You ever looked at Heart of Darkness, not the novel but the documentary about making Apocalypse Now, and think but what if it were a comedy? If the answer is no, then youāre clearly most people and not Ben Stiller. Props to Ben Stiller for deciding to take the piss out of the entire construct of p” read more
“Confession: I have never read Little Women. Despite this, the story is one that is so familiar and become such a collected part of the fabric of Americana that I know the storyās general beats, character types, and basic plot. After all, thereās been three major film adaptations, several done on” read more
“One of the graphic novels of Sin City, a collection of short stories involving major and minor characters from throughout the books, is named Booze, Broads, and Bullets. Those three words boil down Sin City to its most basic components, and this reduction is evident in this long gestating sequel. A ” read more
“The ingredients are all there but the batter never mixes correctly in Cake. A stellar performance from its star cannot hide the deficiencies in the rest of the film, nor can it entirely keep you interested, as thereās no one and nothing for her to work with or against. Jennifer Aniston deserved al” read more
“This EP of Marshall Crenshaw covers wasnāt released until 2003, but they were recorded for a never-to-materialize album in the late 80s/early 90s. For those who know anything about Ronnie Spectorās career that would put us right around the time of the Eddie Money duet āTake Me Home Tonight,ā” read more
“Is this Mario Bavaās most violent film? It seems entirely possible as it contains thirteen deaths, each a series of escalating gore and slaughter until it all culminates in a sick joke. Bavaās particular brand of giallo was built upon nihilism, but A Bay of Blood feels completely unconcerned wit” read more
“Six films into the franchise and Universal finally decided to make their all of their premiere monsters team-up in House of Frankenstein, an entertaining mid-tier entry that shouldāve been better. You get five for the price of one here, as the Monster, the Wolf Man, Dracula, a mad scientist, and h” read more
“The Universal Monsters contained a troupe of players both behind and in front of the camera, many of whom performed double or triple duty by working on various entries in the sub-franchises. Think of how Boris Karloff played the Monster, a mummy, and a mad scientist, or how Bela Lugosi was Dracula, ” read more
“Universalās horror branch was in decline when the success of a double feature re-release in 1938 of Dracula and Frankenstein provided a shot in the arm. Cut to 1939 and the brand new entry in the dormant Frankenstein franchise, a film that found Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi teaming up for the fir” read more
“Part espionage thriller, part romance, and still Golden Earrings is a dull entry in Marlene Dietrichās career. The dust had barely settled from WWII when this was unleashed, and this had somehow managed to turn the Nazis into a vague non-threat. Itās also grossly ahistorical in its presentation ” read more
“Glamour puss extraordinaire Marlene Dietrich gets a chance to poke gentle fun at her icy, remote goddess persona in The Flame of New Orleans. Weāre a long way from the sustained romantic luxury and exotic stylization found in the Josef von Sternberg films here, and Dietrich actually exhibits perso” read more
Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 1: Mondo Exotica
“Ah, exotica, that most bizarre of subgenre of American jazz popular in the late 50s through the mid-60s that was an aural ersatz approximation of world music through an atomic prism. It didnāt actually sound anything like real music from a Hawaiian luau or the folk sounds of the Amazon, nor did it” read more
“A confusing, charming mess of a takeoff on The Little Mermaid, Lu Over the Wall is several different films vying for attention, all of them various degrees of good. If you could, just for a minute, imagine what would happen if a Miyazaki film was rammed through a Looney Tunes filter, and Iām talki” read more
“Pop music so intrinsically tied to its era shouldnāt remain this breezy and fun. Yet here we are with Duran Duranās Greatest, a nineteen song retrospective of their Top 40-minded alternative-pop hits and strongest minor singles. What remains crystal clear is that they mined the same territory th” read more
“Thereās plenty of bigger, badder collections of Etta Jamesā genre-bending blues growl out there, but if all you want is the cream of the crop from Miss Peaches then this collection is what youāre looking for. Her Best gathers up the essential moments from her Chess Records period, her most fer” read more