As the coronavirus pandemic approaches its projected peak, the need to stay indoors takes on a renewed urgency. But, for a good many, self-isolation is less than a luxury. Escape is needed, and there are fewer art forms that offer … Continue reading THE END OF THE TOUR
Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) is seventeen and pregnant. She lives in a small, blue-collar Pennsylvania town without much of a support system. Her familial relationship appears strained, as does her relationship with the father of her unborn child. He’s a jerk … Continue reading NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
You just got to play detective, don’t you? Do I go around playing piano? — Capt. Flood, Black Angel 1946’s Black Angel isn’t the most well-known film noir adapted from a Cornell Woolrich novel. That honor goes to 1944’s Phantom Lady, the story of a … Continue reading Blu Tuesday: BLACK ANGEL
Set in the Parisian neighborhood of Montfermeil, the region where Victor Hugo set his epic novel, Les Misérables explores the origins of crime, resentment, and violence. The movie, which hews close to documentary, follows two local cops (Alexis Manenti and Djibril Zonga) … Continue reading LES MISÉRABLES
The king of the jungle, a London-based gangster and high-powered drug dealer, has been killed. Or, so says Fletcher (Hugh Grant), an investigative reporter who’s stumbled onto a scoop so good, he might as well parlay it into blackmail and … Continue reading THE GENTLEMEN
Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time. That’s the line that opens the story Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. The story of Billy Pilgrim, World War II, sexual desire, post-war suburban malaise, the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, free will vs. fate, and … Continue reading Blu Tuesday: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE
Silent pictures are the purest form of cinema. —Alfred Hitchcock For many, he was the Master of Suspense. The eyes and hands behind Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds. The droll voice and the rotund figure behind the popular TV show, Alfred … Continue reading Blu Tuesday — Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection
Three men work the line at the Checkered Taxi auto plant in Detroit, Michigan. Their lives revolve around hard labor and heavy drinking, getting yelled at by their supervisors and trying to keep their heads above water at home. They’re … Continue reading Blu Tuesday: BLUE COLLAR
Mr. Rodgers doesn’t feel like he should be part of this world. His gentleness, kindness, and saint-like patience seem better placed in the world of make-believe — right next to King Friday XIII and Daniel Tiger. Until the recent (and … Continue reading A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Set in London 2009 — for somewhat arbitrary reasons — The Good Liar opens with two lonely souls seeking companionship via a dating website: Distinctive Dating. Both are elderly, and both check various boxes and add personal information while the opening titles … Continue reading THE GOOD LIAR
