JOKER
“I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man.” —Notes From the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky Who makes the monster, and where do they come from? We’ve been asking those questions for far too long … Continue reading JOKER
Category: Reviews
MS. PURPLE
Life at the bottom isn’t easy. Near the bottom ain’t any easier, and that’s where Kasie (Tiffany Chu) resides. Her mother left when she was a child, her father (James Kang) is a bed-ridden invalid in his final days, and … Continue reading MS. PURPLE
THIS IS NOT BERLIN
Mexico City, the mid-1980s: Carlos is 17, sexually curious, slightly confused about what to do with his life, and lacking ambition. His friend takes him to a nightclub, a gay nightclub, and he sees his friend’s older sister, Rita performing … Continue reading THIS IS NOT BERLIN
TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID
Fairy tales aren’t ways to avoid the horrors of the world; fairy tales are ways to provide a buffer from the horrors of the world. Sometimes those buffers are thicker than others. In the case of Tigers Are Not Afraid, that … Continue reading TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
The allure of a portrait is the suggestion of the secret. Just look at the one of Lisa del Giocondo. We know when she was born, June 15, 1479, and we know Leonardo da Vinci painted her sometime in the … Continue reading PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
PHOENIX, OREGON
Bobby (James Le Gros) is stuck. Despite a journey that starts in Italy and ends in Hawaii, Bobby is stationary, passive, and numb. He’s working at a low-end Italian eatery that charges high-end prices. He’s divorced and living in a … Continue reading PHOENIX, OREGON
DIEGO MARADONA
You don’t have to know a thing about soccer, or even care much for it, to enjoy Diego Maradona, Asif Kapadia’s documentary about the legendary Argentina player. Constructed from over 500 hours of archival footage, and bolstered by audio interviews with … Continue reading DIEGO MARADONA
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN
It’s been 20 years since novelist Jonathan Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn — the story of Lionel Essrog, a low-level gumshoe with Tourette’s — and actor Edward Norton has been trying to bring it to the screen every since. Oh, to know the … Continue reading MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN
DON’T LET GO
Ashley (Storm Reid) and Uncle Jack (David Oyelowo) have a close relationship. Her father, his brother, was once a screw-up. And though his life has mostly been on the straight-and-narrow ever since, Dad still isn’t a reliable phone call away. … Continue reading DON’T LET GO
LOVE, ANTOSHA
He was born Anton Viktorovich Yelchin on March 11, 1989, but to his parents, he would always be Antosha. He was their only son, and they loved him dearly. Yelchin reciprocated, but tragedy came all the same. On June 19, … Continue reading LOVE, ANTOSHA
