Review: Music as a Diplomatic Tool in Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
In a truly unique and appropriate way to view politics of the 1970s, filmmaker Mary Wharton has made a film about the campaign and one-term presidency of Jimmy Carter that […]
Interview: John Leguizamo on Working with Spike Lee, Thinking a Few Moves Ahead, and Filming Chess Like a Boxing Match
I’ve been lucky enough, since the early 1990s, to have seen every one of John Leguizamo’s one-man shows either in New York or in Chicago (where he often previews his […]
Essay: Racial Injustice Themes in Pop Culture Shine a Light on the Change We Must Demand
We’re living in a strange period of horror shows in politics, health and racial injustice. You never know what type of abomination you’ll find when you turn on your phone, […]
Review: A Few Cheap Thrills Aside, The Owners Isn’t Worth the Investment
As thrillers go, the premise is promising enough: a small crew of misfits targets an empty old house for their next mark, only to be surprised when the owners return […]
Review: A Harmless Comic Harnessed for Harassment—and the Fight to Save it—in Feels Good Man
By the time I ever heard of or laid eyes upon the cartoon character known as Pepe the Frog, created by artist Matt Furie, the character was already firmly entrenched […]
Review: Measure for Measure Skillfully Shifts Shakespeare to a Modern Day Gang War
Modern updates of Shakespeare are always a mixed bag. But for the most part, I’m in favor of them because they open up the Bard’s work to a new generation […]
Review: With a Standout Central Performance, Mulan Gorgeously Reimagines a Centuries-Old (and Disney Classic) Myth
One of the first things I noticed about the new live-action version of Disney’s 1998 animated feature Mulan is that there is a tremendous amount of bloodless death. So much, […]
Review: The Mole Agent Turns Spy Work into Something Heartfelt and Sweet
Though it’s ostensibly a film about an elderly spy going undercover in a retirement home to catch the staff in their neglect and abuse of its residents red-handed, there is […]
Review: Visual Gymnastics, Laid-Back Cool and a Signature Grand Scale in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet
In many ways, writer/director Christopher Nolan’s latest blend of action, science fiction and all things massively scaled, Tenet, is a greatest hits package for the filmmaker, in all the good […]
Review: Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things Twists Timelines, Stretches Believability and Demands Repeat Viewings
As he seems to excel at doing in one screenplay after another (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), as well as […]
Review: Documentary Duo Shift to Episodic Format for Riveting, Drama-Packed Love Fraud
The documentary-making duo Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have consistently delivered some of the most intriguing and thought-provoking films on American life, politics and culture. From 2006’s Jesus Camp, about children […]
Review: A Raucous, Silly Adventure, Get Duked! Surprises with Genuine Laughs and Confident Filmmaking
At some point since its premiere at 2019’s SXSW Film Festival, Get Duked! got re-titled. Originally called Boyz in the Wood, one imagines there were some copyright issues with that nod to John […]