Watching these two films one is struck by what appears to be a significant transformation (or, regression) in the future that science fiction expresses and of the role that it has traditionally played with respect to its social and political implications.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A surprisingly good film that uses the power of the cinematic to elevate the contemporary progressive struggle to reshape our approach to the economy.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
One of Eastwood's more tolerable films reveals the role of the Western mythology in deconstructing effective government as well as its emotional logic.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Another genius film from the Korean master. It's enigmatic title points to a form of being amidst the abjection of life that only becomes possible through our relationships with the opposite sex.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And another sad example of the vanity documentary sub-genre.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential."xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A Danish film that attempts to rearticulate the Western genre according to the problematic facing contemporary European liberalism fails as a Western, but, in so doing, exposes the naivete of a European liberal culture and context that has never encountered the vagaries of the American Frontier.xxxx
A film that, despite its obvious and pervasively noted short-comings movingly exalts an invisible cinematic underclass of dysfunctional human life and offers an interesting indication of what might be considered the anti-superhero cinema.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Disappointingly, almost unwatcheably unintelligent nonsense that, while it does introduce some interesting new animation techniques to the format that are worth a few moments to respect, is simply unable to create anything resembling an actual story along with any of what's necessary to tell it.xxxx
Gareth Edwards and Disney rearticulate the entire Star Wars franchise, grounding it, perhaps for the first time, in a way that properly respects the cinematic significance of what George Lukas originally created and what has only been improperly exploited for profit and meta-cultural citation since.
A film whose intentions are to be an Interstellar of the mind that, while it raises an interesting set of ideas, is mostly a derivative imitation based in an anachronistic militaristic ideology that undermines its message.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A film with genre-expanding ambitions that, although it has some high points worth watching for, rings somewhat hollow when considered on the merits of its main purpose as a successor to the Coens' True Grit.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A surprisingly worthwhile film that manages to transcend the documentary genre and Herzog's own idiosyncrasies to achieve a truly poetic statement on the Internet.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A film punctuated with moments of insight assembled into an absurdly non-sensical montage, when looked at properly, reflects something about the insanity of American social-life while remaining a film absolutely not worth taking very seriously.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Now that this HBO series has concluded, we take a moment to review our previous analysis of the series to see how it culminates in a reflection on a process of transformation taking place in American society today .xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Woody Allen's latest film deals with the alienating potential of dreams. However, as with some of his recent work, this one gets a too bogged down in hyper-neurotic reflexivity that undermines what it could have been.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This new HBO series brings Scandinavian crime-noir to the U.S. to explore dysfunction in the criminal justice system and undermine existing cinematic representations of it.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hong Sang-soo's 17th feature film explores the entangled relationship between one's disposition, the external environment, and serendipity.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This new Netflix series has an interesting premise that speaks to countless fragmented and dysfunctional American families. But...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A light-hearted comedy that conceals the most thorough exploration of the role that cinema's dreams have in life by one of America's greatest directors.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It's hard to imagine a time before television and the dominance of the image, but Woody Allen accomplishes just that here with a nostalgic look back on the days of radio and the vast invisible imagination it produced then.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Iñárritu's film owes alot to Robert Altman's Short Cuts, from which it borrows many ideas that were pregnant but not fully realized in his film. Iñárritu also makes a much better film that pays real respect to Raymond Carver's work.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A film comprised of several short films that evoke the themes and characters of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Coen brothers' latest film looks at the complex way in which cinema is implicated in the formation of social and political change.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HBO's new series explores the moment of cultural and social transformation taking place at the end of the '70's through the eyes of a group of record executives who's failing company tries to re-define itself to stay relevant.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The most dishonest propaganda film in recent memory, this film tries to exploit every aspect of the structure and aesthetic of a good documentary to re-write the history of the crimes and profiteering of a group of fossil thieves.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx