– By Sam Hendrian – “Do you know what the most important thing is to me right now? Talking to Lloyd Vogel.” The renowned children’s television host Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) speaks these words to the emotionally-wounded journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) in an early scene of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a new, true story-inspired film that is …
The Eternal Woman in ‘Little Women’
– By Maria Andress – Greta Gerwig’s recent adaption of Little Women raised both expectancy and a few eyebrows with the promise of good screenplay and the questions of why we needed a fifth Little Women film and whether it would be faithful to Louisa May Alcott with its stellar though decidedly third wave feminist cast. Delightfully, it was neither …
The Immortality of the Soul and a Call to Virtue in ‘Doctor Sleep’
– By Sam Hendrian – “We’re all dying. The world’s just a hospice with fresh air.” This philosophical observation made by Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) midway through the cinematic Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep is rather bleak, but it is also undeniably true. Like the memento mori that monks sometimes keep on their desks, horror films are ultimately necessary reminders …
The Brilliant Paradox of ‘Parasite’
By James Powers Contains Mild Spoilers The South Korean film Parasite, this year’s winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, is full of striking imagery. Unexpected but trenchant symbolism keeps cropping up in this film that might, at first glance, seem to be relatively grounded in realism. But one particular shot, about two-thirds of the way through, struck me as an …
The Dangers of Idealizing Love in Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Trilogy’
– By Sam Hendrian – “The concept is absurd. The idea that we can only be complete with another person is evil. Right?” This fascinating question proposed by Celine (Julie Delpy) to Jesse (Ethan Hawke) in the second film of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy succinctly captures the central theme at play in all three films. Is the idea of “soul …
It’s Weird, but Joker Is the Anti-Hero We Want – And Maybe the One We Deserve
– By James Powers – Spoilers below for Joker There was much blood and thunder in the world of pop-culture commentary preceding the release of Joker, with many a critic who had already seen the film at Venice or TIFF proclaiming either that it was a) a trenchant social commentary in the guise of a comic book movie, or …
Blindness of the Heart in ‘Bride of Frankenstein’
– By Sam Hendrian – “But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” – 1 John 2:11 Blindness is not limited to the eyes. There are many people who force their hearts to read braille, and even then, …
‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’: An Authentic American Gem With an Endearing Lead Duo
(2019—Directors: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz) — by Renard N. Bansale — Low ★★★★ (out of 5 stars) “Rule #1: Don’t slow me down.” — Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) to Zak (Zack Gottsagen) Potential spoilers below To portray characters with disabilities and disorders accurately, actors since cinema’s dawn down to the present day have relied on makeup, visual effects as technology …
Nothing to Fear but Fear ITself
– By James Powers – Spoilers below for both It and It Chapter Two Many accusations can be leveled against Stephen King as a storyteller, but dullness is not one of them. Despite the very R-rated content of much of his work, there’s a certain childlike exuberance to the way he invents bonkers scenarios to inflict upon his all-too …
What ‘Taxi Driver’ Has to Say About Finding Purpose in the Wrong Places
– By Sam Hendrian – This article is part of our Classic Film Throwback Series “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to ME?” These words have been parodied so many times in films over the years that it is easy to forget where they originated from: Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver. Controversial for its graphically violent climax and morally ambiguous …