MCN Originals
On Video: LET THE SUNSHINE IN, Voilà l’enchaînement and GLORIA BELL
Two of our greatest actresses at their boldest and warmest and most open.
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Cold Pursuit, Valentine, Bosch, Nina, Shape of Now, Big Clock, Yakuza Law, Donna Reed, Unforgotten, Moses, Korea … More
The grieving father tips over the first domino, by killing a few small-time dealers, who, before they die, give up the names of their suppliers. At the top of the ladders are “Viking” and White Bull, who suspect each other of ordering the hits.
Read the full article »Arms And The Man: A Review Of JOHN WICK 3
Tossed, torn, noosed, dragged, stabbed, shot, shot, crotch-bit, machine-gunned, hand-axed, saber-sliced, face-crushed, shot, burnt, bullied, horse-kicked, catapulted, subjected to sustained knife fracas and shot.
Read the full article »Friday Movies: LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, SHADOW, MEETING GORBACHEV, BLAZE
Worlds of wonder, in ancient China, today’s China, Russia and Nashville.
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: What Men Want, Blaze, Banjos, Bauhaus, Scientology, Lily Chou-Chou, Glass, Grand Duel, George Carlin, Agatha Raison … More
The daughter of a boxer (Richard Roundtree), who named her after a great champion, Ali expects to be handed the promotion that goes to a white agent, whose head is stuck up the ass of their boss (Brian Bosworth).
Read the full article »Friday Movies: EXTREMELY WICKED; KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE; HAIL SATAN?; ASK DR. RUTH; And On Video, NEVER LOOK AWAY; MAD DOG AND GLORY
In a land beyond Avengers: Endgame
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Jackie Chan, Dragged Across Concrete, Miyazaki, Khrustalyov, Tarantula!, Bigger, Wire in Blood, Finding Joy
Police Story was a huge hit in Asian markets, where audiences were more attuned to Chan’s trademark blend of action, comedy and sentimentality. It took another decade, at least, for American critics to recognize the genius it took to create such monumental set pieces as the opening chase, which ended with the destruction of a hillside shantytown.
Read the full article »That Sirkian Someone: An Extended Anecdote About Art, Politics, Melodrama and Movies On His 119th Birthday
Douglas Sirk was born April 26, 1900.
Read the full article »No Spoilers: Thinking About AVENGERS: ENDGAME
A consideration of the weight of Avengers: Endgame with no plot details whatsoever.
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Diamonds of the Night, School of Life, Red Room, Witch/Hagazussa, Tito & the Birds, Keoma, Andre’s Gospel, Noir
In a risky leap of narrative faith, he avoids attaching labels to the characters. Instead of describing ‘Diamonds of the Night’ as a World War II or Holocaust film, he wants audiences to see it as a survival story that explores the human condition under extreme conditions.
Read the full article » 1 Comment »All Parts: A Review of Alex Ross Perry’s HER SMELL
“I can’t point to any movie, recent or otherwise,” writer-director Alex Ross Perry has noted of his intently, intensely ambitious sixth feature, “that combines the two things I wanted to explore in ‘Her Smell’: lowbrow popular music and highbrow theatrical productions going back to Shakespeare’s five-act tragedies.”
Read the full article »Fluid Mechanic: Claire Denis Talks High Life
“Deny them your essence, Mandrake!”
Read the full article »Vertiginous Scale: Thoughts on WELCOME TO MARWEN
Welcome to Marwen is something else, but what is it?
Read the full article » 1 Comment »The DVD Wrapup: Bumblebee, Ginsburg, Buster, Silent Voice, Nazi Junkies, Prisoner, Golden Vampires, Highway Rat, Terra Formars, No Alternative … More
The studio decided to downscale the size of the sixth installment, by reducing the budget drastically, bringing in fresh behind-the-camera talent , keeping the running time under 120 minutes for the first time in 12 years, putting the focus on fewer characters and de-emphasizing the brand in the publicity material. It would promote the presence of a formidable teenage heroine, alongside the already popular Bumblebee and formidable Decepticon enemy, and add a malleable American warrior.
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Unapologetic Stuff: A Review Of KNIFE + HEART
“Knife + Heart” (Un couteau dans le coeur) has all kinds of stuff. It’s a tumultuous original, dragging worlds of cinema sensation that came before screaming and punching behind it. Begin with “Phantom of the Paradise,” stir in “Peeping Tom,” and “Body Double”; don’t stop at “Poison” or “Cruising” and “Blow Out.” Sex and art commingle…
Read the full article »American Charmer: A Review Of The Brink
Alison Klayman’s “The Brink,” an avatar of cinema-vérité observation, arrives in a hush and escalates with precision. Recording political consultant and purported intellectual powerhouse Stephen K. “Steve” Bannon after his dismissal from the arms of Trump power, captured by a filmmaker-cinematographer-sound recordist on their own, edited to a fierce ninety-minute form from day-after-day of close…
Read the full article »Kent Jones on Arriving With DIANE
Mary Kay Place is a quiet revelation in writer-director Kent Jones’ fiction feature debut, but she’s surrounded by history: Jones’ own.
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Capernaum, Perfect Blue, Cameron Post, Tyrel, Ailes, Body Snatcher, Sam J. Jones, Sonny Chiba, Phantom Lady, Victoria’s Wedding … More
In Capernaum, Zain is a victim of a nearly universal legal system that allows unsuitable parents to retain control of their children. Here, Zain helps support the family by hauling goods to costumers in the street market. It’s more than his old man contributes.
Read the full article »A Review of US (some spoilers)
You don’t want to be Them.
Read the full article »The DVD Wrapup: Mary Returns, Becoming Astrid, Quake, Holiday, Vengeance, Out of Love, HoneyGlue, Born in East L.A., Greasy Strangler, Mystery Road … More
At 130 minutes, I doubt that most younger viewers possess the stamina to stay with Mary Poppins Returns until the uplifting ending, which transcends the darkness by adding some pixie dust.
Read the full article »