A devious and creepy psychological film in the horror/thriller genre has made its way into cinemas in the form of Robert Eggers’s second feature, “The Lighthouse.” His first film “The Witch” was a masterpiece of tone and tension and staked its claim as one of the finest horror films of the past twenty-five years. Now comes Eggers’s latest film, one that is sure to shock, enthrall, and ... more >
ARCHIVES
“The Lighthouse,” a mind-bending, psychologically-intense thriller
Two men's descent into madness
Willem Defoe, Robert Pattinson and Valeriia Karaman
Directed by Robert Eggers
“FIRST LOVE” (this is why I go to the movies!)
映画ニュース Crazy, fun and gorey 初恋
Becky, Sakurako Konishi, Masataka Kubota and Sakurako Konishi
Directed by Takashi Miike 三池 崇史
A Takashi Miike film. Don’t be afraid. Jump into his cinematic world. While he isn’t always perfect, good or bad, his films hold unique and fascinating wonders for cinephiles. “First Love” ("Hatsukoi" in the original Japanese, is Miike’s best film since 2010’s “13 Assassins.” This is a wild ride but just wild enough. Being a Miike film, we are treated to scenes of the bizarre and macabre, but ... more >
TALKING WITH Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, co-filmmakers of “The Elephant Queen”
Film will play in select theaters on October 18th and begin streaming on November 1st
When making a documentary out in nature, sometimes the story will find the filmmakers along the way. Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble spent four years solidly with a small team on the African savanna following an elephant pack led by a female named Athena for their new documentary, “The Elephant Queen,” but they always wanted to do it their own way, and not have financiers dictating the direction of ... more >
“Joker,” a morality-defying, two-hour drop down a man’s impaired psyche
This is Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips's first collaboration together
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy
Directed by Todd Phillips
I’m always skeptical when a film receives too much hype. With the on-again, off-again quality of American fare, I try not to set my hopes too high, especially when it comes to a film about the D.C. Comics's The Joker, by the director of “The Hangover” series. It is with great pleasure that I report that, while the film itself isn’t the cinematic masterpiece that some have christened it, Todd ... more >
IN CONVERSATION with THE LAUNDROMAT’S Scott Z. Burns and Jake Bernstein
The Panama Papers investigation revisited for the screen
The scandal surrounding the revelations contained in the Panama Papers is labyrinthine. So complex, in fact, that Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Jake Bernstein spent years unearthing the intricacies of the enmeshment of the financial system and Russian interests for his book, “Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite,” ... more >
OPINION – Could “Rambo: Last Blood” be any more tone-deaf ?
Whose Rambo is it anyway?
John Rambo’s “final” adventure is upon us, and (spoiler alert), he rides off into the sunset—no matter that he’s critically injured. Will he be back? Or has the character finally overstayed his welcome? In a word: perhaps. The fact that the “First Blood” franchise has lasted nearly forty years over five films is kind of amazing in and of itself. Unlike Rocky Balboa, John Rambo has never ... more >
BFI London Film Festival lineup announced
Filmmaker Jessica Hausner to head First Feature Competition jury
The 63rd BFI London Film Festival has announced its jury line-up for this year’s Festival Awards. The Official Competition jury is led by acclaimed Colette (LFF 2018) and Still Alice director Wash Westmoreland, whose latest film Earthquake Bird screens in this year’s Festival; the First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) jury will be headed up by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, whose ... more >