“If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you’d be the first person in the history of the world.” Paul Thomas Anderson never fails to amaze me. With each new project, he sets out to test the audience, to push […]
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15 “The dual substance of Christ—the yearning, so human, so superhuman, of man to attain to God or, more exactly, to return […]
I have a love-hate relationship with the work of director Gaspar Noe. While I admire his technique and his willingness to dive into the lowest depths of hell in order to reveal difficult truths, his films, for the most part, are nearly unwatchable for many different reasons. Concerning his “willingness to dive into the lowest depths […]
This article contains spoilers. Yes, many of us have seen this film countless times. However, the film that asked us all to “look closer” seventeen years ago is still as powerful and relevant as it ever was. American Beauty revolves around Lester Burnham, a lonely husband and father whose life has slipped away before his […]
I discovered the Quay Brothers when I caught a short film of theirs on the imported Blu-ray of Jan Svankmajer’s Alice. I’ve always been intrigued by stop-motion animation, however, I’d never seen anything quite like this before. It was totally unique. I knew that I had to seek out the rest of their work. Just […]
The first time that I experienced Harmony Korine’s Gummo, I was shocked, horrified, and repulsed by it. I was almost positive that it was the vilest piece of trash ever committed to celluloid – but I kept going back to it. During each subsequent viewing, I became aware of Harmony Korine’s intentions. Yes, he wants […]
“Now, thinking back on the course of my passion, I was like one blind, unafraid of the dark…” Jane Campion’s erotic thriller, entitled In the Cut, was largely ignored by audiences and ripped apart by critics when it was released on October 31, 2003. Most of the reviews focused on the adult content, rather than […]
Agusti Villaronga’s 1987 debut feature, In a Glass Cage, is perhaps the coldest film that I have ever seen. From its icy blue color palette to the way in which it unflinchingly depicts the depravity of its tortured characters, this is a film that makes any selection from Michael Haneke’s filmography look like a leisurely […]
“We don’t like the twins. You’ll learn about them soon enough.” The seventies and the eighties were incredibly fruitful for director Robert Altman. After the success of MASH, he was given carte blanche by Twentieth Century Fox. As a result of this wealth of freedom, he wrote, produced, and directed 3 Women, which, according to […]
Shout Factory has finally released director Can Evrenol’s film, Baskin, on a Blu-ray combo collector’s edition. The Turkish horror film, Baskin, is shrouded in dream logic from the very opening scenes, in which a young boy named Arda experiences a terrifying nightmare. When we skip forward years later, Arda is a grown man, and one […]
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