Game of Thrones Review - "The Rains of Castamere" (Episode 3.9)
It's not easy to go from outrage to desperation to passionate grief to shock in the span of a single scene, but Michelle Fairley was pitch perfect. read more
Mad Men Review: "A Tale of Two Cities" (Episode 6.10)
This is actually a tale of quite a few cities. read more
Fill the Void
It’s a situation we’ve seen before: tragedy strikes and a community comes together to help those affected. But the circumstances, and indeed the community, of this movie are likely different than the ones you’re used to seeing on the screen.... read more
The English Teacher
Audiences, young and mature, tend to flock to movies set in high school. The memories, the petty horrors, and the glory of senior year all seem to resonate with people, regardless of age. Still, aptly capturing the reality (and ridiculousness) of high school while creating an interesting, sophisticated film is quite a feat. The English Teacher accomplishes this, both appropriating and dismantling other clichés (like the inspirational teacher and the student/teacher love affair) with just the right of amount of tongue-in-cheekiness throughout all of the drama. Funny and fulfilling, Craig Zisk has created a small, triumphant feature film debut.... read more
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
Alex Gibney—the prolific documentarian behind Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side and Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God—turns his lens on WikiLeaks, the nonprofit website dedicated to making public secret and classified materials from anonymous sources. At the center of Gibney’s latest exposé is the enigmatic Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief of the site. But unassuming Private First Class Bradley Manning, who launched the organization into the big time when he allegedly leaked hundreds of thousands of documents from classified U.S. military and diplomatic servers, gets equal time in... read more
Frances Ha
Frances Ha is endearing, kind and, in many ways, Noah Baumbach’s best movie to date. One could trace his films, from his debut (Kicking and Screaming) to his most recent (Greenberg) and see a slow but steady focus on the individual, as well as his abandonment of an ironic, sometimes caustic stance against the very characters he writes. It is as if Baumbach could only write a certain type of person—the privileged, socially crippled intellectual with either too much self-awareness or none at all—and for a while it seemed like even the writer himself couldn’t stand to be in the... read more
Venus in Fur (2013 Cannes review)
One of the big critical sensations from this year’s Cannes was All Is Lost, a daring drama that featured Robert Redford all by his lonesome on screen for the film’s entire running time. It’s such an impressive feat of acting that it succeeded in overshadowing the festival’s other great example of minimalist narrative. Venus in Fur gives us two characters engaging in a battle of wits, practically in real time, in which the power dynamic slowly changes over the course of about 95 minutes. But because we’re never quite sure of the true motives of one of the two leads,... read more
The Wake #1 by Scott Snyder & Sean Murphy
Writer: Scott Snyder Writer: Sean Murphy Publisher: DC Release Date: May 29, 2013... read more
Tore Tanzt (2013 Cannes review)
God works in mysterious ways, but the main character in Tore Tanzt (Nothing Bad Can Happen) never doubts His presence, no matter how terrible things get. Maybe he should: In this dark drama, first-time feature director Katrin Gebbe puts Tore through a harrowing journey that might have been too much even for Job, introducing him to a family ruled by a truly sadistic father. The path is difficult for him—and for the audience.... read more
Max Rose (2013 Cannes review)
The sentimental drama Max Rose is the first film to star Jerry Lewis in 18 years. It’s not a happy return for the comic legend, who has also been superb in weightier fare. (His performance in director Martin Scorsese’s dark satire The King of Comedy remains a career highlight.) A story about an aging widower looking back on his life, Max Rose has an icky earnestness and general incompetence that make this potential comeback vehicle a rather exasperating viewing experience. Lewis has claimed that he thought the script by writer-director Daniel Noah was the best he’s read in 40 years.... read more
Grigris (2013 Cannes review)
If he lived somewhere else—or had been dealt a better hand—maybe Grigris would have a happier life. And yet despite being hampered by a crippled left leg and living in poverty in Chad’s capital city of N’Djamena, this slender 25-year-old almost always has a smile on his face. Maybe it’s in part because he’s found an escape from the world around him through dancing at a local nightclub, his friends and admirers chanting his name whenever he takes the floor. His moves are graceful, his confidence without question. Despite his difficult situation, his sweet temperament seems bulletproof.... read more
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013 Cannes review)
Jim Jarmusch treats genres the same way children treat their Christmas toys—as endlessly fun things to batter around, and if they break in the process, well, at least you can’t say they weren’t enjoyed thoroughly. His version of a Western was the poetic, deadpan Dead Man. His idea of an espionage thriller was the off-kilter aloofness of The Limits of Control. His samurai movie was Ghost Dog. So it should be no surprise that his take on the vampire film would be uniquely his own. Thankfully, Only Lovers Left Alive is the farthest thing from a commentary on Twilight. It’s... read more
My Dirty Dumb Eyes by Lisa Hanawalt
Writer & Artist: Lisa Hanawalt Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly Release Date: May 28, 2013... read more
Star Trek: The Next Generation Deck Building Game--Next Phase Edition Review (Board Game)
The first expansion for the Star Trek: TNG deck building game isn't as good as the original. read more
Arrested Development Review: "A New Attitude" (Episode 4.11)
I'm starting to think that the secret ingredient in Arrested Development's brilliant comedic recipe is obsession. read more
Arrested Development Review: "Queen B." (Episode 4.10)
Lucille Bluth has always been one of the strongest characters on Arrested Development. read more
Arrested Development Review: "Smashed" (Episode 4.09)
Apart from GOB Bluth, Arrested Development has perhaps no better onscreen conveyance for delivering the undistilled wit of Hurwitz and the writers than Tobias Fünke. read more
John Fogerty: Wrote A Song for Everyone
John Fogerty’s guests on Wrote A Song for Everyone may provide a pupu platter of genres, but the country/rock/progressive duet partners more often serve as a reminder of Fogerty’s singular potency. read more
Kylesa: Ultraviolet
There's a very good chance that Kylesa's Ultraviolet is the best metal album of 2013. read more
Eisley: Currents
Eisley have always been a consistently satisfying band when it comes to writing loosely folk-based pop-rock songs—that is, until their last few releases, where they've made a conscious effort to write music that is generally more thematic and “experimental” in nature, with songs and sounds meant to create an atmosphere around their conceptual lyrics. read more
