Film/TV
669 results
Page 30
'The Man in the High Castle' on Amazon
Baseball, apple pie, and swastikas
The Man in the High Castle is a revered masterpiece of the alternative history genre. Philip K. Dick’s original novel is mindbending; the Amazon series is considerably more grounded and dynamic than the novel, but no less compelling.
Articles
6 minute read
'Flesh and Bone' on Starz
‘Black Swan’ Redux
Set in the cloistered world of professional ballet, Starz’s Flesh and Bone follows the journey of emotionally damaged dancer Claire Robbins. The series attempts to push the envelope with tabloid-worthy plot points but can’t transcend its balletic clichés and stale choreography to forge something original.
Articles
5 minute read
Charlie Kaufman's 'Anomalisa'
Missed connections
Though weighted with its fair share of flaws and failures, Anomalisa is a formally audacious and emotionally affecting film, and a worthy counterpart to Kaufman’s other cinematic work.
Articles
4 minute read
Gender presentation in 'The Danish Girl'
A different way of looking at gender
By rearranging The Danish Girl's narrative into conventional “woman stands by her man [sic]” tropes, the filmmakers can do something far more radical: proclaim the power of the female gaze.
Articles
5 minute read
Todd Haynes's 'Carol'
Loved Carol, not Carol
Cate Blanchett fans will enjoy this vehicle, but Carol's engine misfires too often. Cate’s glowing character may be a lonely store clerk’s fantasy, but how might she have been treated in real life?
Articles
4 minute read
Tom McCarthy’s ‘Spotlight’ (second review)
Journalism’s rise and fall
Journalism was once a refuge for adventurers and drunks. Today, at its best, it’s become a moral role model even for the Vatican, as Spotlight compellingly demonstrates. But this is no time for self-congratulation.
Articles
8 minute read
'Bridge of Spies' and 'Trumbo'
Revisiting the Red Scare
Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and Jay Roach’s Trumbo are reminders, instructive and nostalgic, that what scares us now happened before, and we survived.
Articles
5 minute read
A look back at 2015's best television
Looking at my list of my 2015 favorites, I still see shows featuring tortured men on the moral razor’s edge, torn between the two sides of their nature — but the cracks are beginning to show.
Articles
6 minute read
'A Very Murray Christmas' on Netflix
A snark-free holiday celebration
Bill Murray grew up, as I did, watching holiday specials of the ubiquitous variety shows of the '50s and '60s, and he celebrates them in his Netflix special, A Very Murray Christmas. The title encapsulates the overall vibe of the show, which both recognizes the cheesiness of the genre he’s recreating and sincerely respects it.
Articles
5 minute read
'Jessica Jones' on Netflix
The future of female superheroes (maybe)
The only thing more deadly than superheroine Jessica Jones's strength is her quick, very snide sense of humor.
Articles
3 minute read