A small, spare, and genuinely beautiful film, very much the spiritual descendent of Italian neorealism. Reichardt could be described as a cinematic minimalist, but only if you consider the sparse nature of the narrative andContinue reading

This richly detailed fan-produced documentary about the impact and legacy of Jaws covers virtually every angle of the film’s production, initial reception, and enduring legacy in the kind of detail that will tickle longtime fansContinue reading

Nava’s directorial debut was called “the first independent American epic” by Variety when it was first released, which is as apt a description as I can imagine. Originally intended for broadcast on PBS, this beautifullyContinue reading

Given that he has become one of the most unique voices to emerge in recent American cinema, it is surprising that Wes Anderson’s directorial debut, which he cowrote with star Owen Wilson, didn’t make moreContinue reading

Darren Aronofsky’s bittersweet drama about a washed-up pro wrestler trying to find meaning in the second act of his life—a sort of reimagining of Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight—offers the role of a lifetimeContinue reading

This fascinating chronicle of Stax Records, the Memphis-based record label that helped redefine both R&B music and race relations, is a bracing true-life success-and-burn story. The mixture of interviews with an impressive array of charactersContinue reading

This fascinating chronicle of Stax Records, the Memphis-based record label that helped redefine both R&B music and race relations, is a bracing true-life success-and-burn story. The mixture of interviews with an impressive array of charactersContinue reading

For Exhibit A in the the category of Great Idea, Not-So-Great Execution we have Romero’s fifth zombie film, which takes a self-consciously YouTube approach to the undead pandemic by depicting the spread of horror withContinue reading

The subject of this immensely entertaining documentary is the French aerialist Phillipe Petite’s daring 45-minute tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers on August 7, 1974, and like any great feat, criminal or otherwise,Continue reading

Lots of evil children have stalked across the screen since 1960’s Village of the Damned, but I can’t think of one that has been as chillingly effective as the titular prodigy in George Ratliff’s enrgossingContinue reading