Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Babadook’

Living with the shadows

The Babadook hits almost every image of the horror film genre, yet it somehow manages to emerge as a standout movie with a fresh take on what scares and strengthens us the most.

Alaina Johns

Dec 09, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

Rudolph and I are misfits

Rudolph is a timeless classic for a reason. For 50 years, his nose has lit up, signaling that he’s a misfit. I was, too, and he made that O.K.

Tara Lynn Johnson

Dec 02, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

David Ayer's 'Fury' (second review)

The war lover

David Ayer’s Fury is a film that aims to look unflinchingly at war, but finally lacks the will to carry its vision through to the end.

Robert Zaller

Nov 29, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Ned Benson's ‘Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’

A film in three parts

The experience of seeing The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is more rewarding than the content itself.

Kayleigh Butera

Nov 25, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Mathieu Amalric’s "The Blue Room"

Who's killing whom?

Mathieu Amalric’s taut adaptation of Georges Simenon’s Blue Room is a story of passion that devolves into murder, but, even more, about the transgressive turns of the human heart.

Robert Zaller

Nov 22, 2014 · Articles · 6 minute read

David Dobkin’s ‘The Judge’

Anger management

Robert Duvall’s stardom began when he played a Mob lawyer to perfection in The Godfather. His turn in The Judge as a magistrate who can’t escape the consequences of his own rectitude is the capstone of a splendid career.

Robert Zaller

Nov 18, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar'

Enthusiasm for the unknown

As big as Interstellar’s ideas are, the heart of the story is small and affectionate. The movie’s strengths are the characters and the journey they take together.

Ryan Dellaquila

Nov 08, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

David Ayer's 'Fury'

Fury's flaws

Filmed heroics or others’ stories did not impress my father. If he were alive today, I might have mentioned but damn sure I would not have the nerve to ask him to see David Ayer’s Fury, starring Brad Pitt and a tough bunch of supporting actors.

AJ Sabatini

Nov 08, 2014 · Articles · 6 minute read

Damien Chazelle's 'Whiplash'

Beating the drum for "Whiplash"

The parallels and similarities of the two main characters in Whiplash to the real Buddy Rich cannot be ignored.

Bruce Klauber

Nov 01, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Haunted house movies

Haunted house, haunted family

Haunted house movies rely on tired old tropes because all the movies explore the same theme: a dysfunctional family and how its secrets tear it apart.

Paula Berman

Oct 28, 2014 · Articles · 6 minute read