Anomalisa Underwhelms
Stop-motion puppets bring Charlie Kaufman’s latest story of misery to depressing life.
Category Archives: Active Observation
Marnie, In Which Hitchcock Rapes His Audience
Late period Hitchcock is not for the weak of heart.
Lost in the Storm with The Hateful Eight
I think you should watch it on TV, late one drunken Saturday, and tell me what you think.
The Hateful Eight, Tarantino’s 70mm Western, Is A Real Movie
Neither cartoon nor meta-commentary on itself, The Hateful Eight is something crazier still: a good movie.
A Fraction of All That’s Wrong With Star Wars: The Force Awakens
In which our weary correspondent asks questions he wishes certain writers had asked before him.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Isn’t Your Father
Let Vader strike you down; it matters not.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, In Which The Empire Has A Great Idea—A Death Star! What Could Go Wrong?
I know, but hear me out–it’s a REALLY BIG Death Star, right? It’s just so, so, so BIG this time. You see? No way it blows up again. I promise.
Valerie And Her Week of Wonders: Vampiric Czech Surrealism
Plunge into an eastern European rabbit-hole, don’t forget your enchanted pearl, and watch out for chickens, priests, and polecats.
Amy, In Which The Life and Death of Amy Winehouse Will Depress The Fuck Out of You
A sad, sad story of an artist eaten alive.
Spotlight Commits Cardinal Sin
Spotlight is not nearly as thrilling as watching four people doing research and scribbling on wood-pulp paper can be.
Hitchcock/Truffaut, In Which A Book Is Brought To Life
A cinematic ode to a movie director’s ode to a movie director.
Creed, or: Old Man Rocky Passes The Baton
Rocky’s past comes back to be trained. Boxing ensues.
Intercontinental Lousy Movie Marathon II
A profound cinematic meditation 30,000+ feet above the Earth. Part 2.
Bone Tomahawk, In Which Kurt Russell’s Moustache Steals The Show
There’s not much of a show to steal, but what there is, the moustache makes off with.