Harper, Archer, Marlowe, and Spade
Are we hardboiled or can you make us ache?
Category Archives: Active Observation
Three and A Half Godzillas – Part 1: The Original (With and Without Raymond Burr)
In which the original Godzilla and its Americanized Raymond Burr-ful recut version are considered.
Guardians of the Galaxy Raids Lost Ark, Melts Faces
At its core, Guardians of the Galaxy introduces us to a man who robs graves and happens upon an object of theological importance. That does not make it Raiders of the Lost Ark.
All That Heaven Allows – And Then Some
In which Douglas Sirk gets away with subversive, melodramatic murder. His victim: the ’50s.
All-Purpose Marvel Movie Review
Want to know about the latest Marvel movie? How about that one from two years ago? Or the one five years from now? We’ve got you covered.
Finding Fela: Or, More Exactly, Finding A Broadway Musical About Fela Kuti
Music so brilliant, a man so fascinating, maybe the next doc made about his life will be the good one.
The Kill Team, the Act of Killing, and Murder Most Foul
All the while, there behind him, within him, is the cold flint of war scraping relentlessly for a spark.
A Most Wanted Man: In Which Philip Seymour Hoffman Comes To An End
A tightly wound, slow-burning spy flick, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman gives the kind of performance you wish like hell he was around to keep on giving.
Boyhood Blows Your Brain Like Bubblegum
It is not the scope of the filmmaking that makes Boyhood incredible. It is what that scope does to your brain.
The Zero Theorem: Everything Adds Up to Nothing
The Zero Theorem may be one of Gilliam’s lesser successes, but it’s built on something, towards something — and that’s clearly better than nothing.
Is The Abyss Abysmal?
Everyone in The Abyss, everyone watching The Abyss should logically be dead.
Boyhood, In Which Time Is The Star
Richard Linklater gathers up time and turns it into a movie you’re going to have to see.
A Hard Day’s Night Is Really Good, And Other Stunning Beatles Revelations
I think this band could really make it big.
Gremlins Will Eat Your Face
Joe Dante’s 1984 Christmas movie, Gremlins, is the funniest, bleakest, most horrific kids’ movie ever made. In fact it may be the only horror movie for kids I can think of.