We learn very early on in Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights that everyone has a dream. Everyone has a song. Even the neighborhood Abuela spends her days wondering whether the sacrifices she and her mother made had lasting impact. Even the dude who sells snow cones has a story to tell. This is probably true of every place and every community, but it takes a special kind of ear to key in on this and bring it all to... Read more
The effect that WWII had on the American psyche is one of the most discussed topics in all of film discussion, but if we could imagine one film as sort of the face of this issue, it would have to be Fred Zinneman’s 1949 noir-piece, Act of Violence. The film sees family man and all-around good guy, Frank, living with his wife, Edith, and young son in the suburbs. His California community celebrates Frank for surviving a POW camp while... Read more
There’s a lot to be grateful for here at the tail end of a long legacy of cinematic masterworks, but it does come with some downsides. Namely, most of said masterworks are often already spoiled to new viewers by virtue of basic participation in the pop culture conversation. People who come to Titanic in 2024 tend to already have “I’ll never let go, Jack!” preloaded. Modern viewers of Jurassic Park aren’t really allowed to be surprised when the dinosaurs break... Read more
Between my readings of both Enchanted and Arrival, I think this is the third time I have written about the glorious Amy Adams, but I think it’s about time I bring the lovely Emily Blunt into this circle as well. (Scratch that, I wrote about A Quiet Place earlier this year, didn’t I?) The two actually costarred together in Christine Jeffs’ 2008 dramedy, Sunshine Cleaning, which also featured Alan Arkin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Clifton Collins Jr. The story sees... Read more
The concept of divine destiny or foreordination can be a highly contested one in religious circles. For some, the idea that God sends us all here with certain programming embedded in us or that God predetermines how our lives play out feels like a violation of our own autonomy. And yet, how many of us have had moments where we’ve glimpsed the hand of the puppeteer? Been privy to something from the other side of the curtain, some confluence of... Read more
Today our attention turns to one of Paul Newman’s most underrated works, Richard Brooks’ 1962 adaptation of Tennesse William’s play, Sweet Bird of Youth. The movie sees Newman as Chance Wayne, a hopeful star on the rising who is chasing two things: the love of his life, Heavenly Finley, and a mass of wealth to support her, which is exactly what he thinks awaits him in Hollywood. Chance does not realize that he was sent on this errant fool’s quest... Read more
Confession: I still don’t get the ending of Donnie Darko … but I do know there’s a lot about the ending that I really like. That final exchange between Donnie’s mom and Gretchen where you can tell that they recognize each other but have no idea why … there’s a lot going on there. They have no memory of one another, but still feel the residue of their interactions from another timeline, a timeline that is now erased. Erased, because... Read more
I’ve heard that there’s a new Terminator anime on Netflix. I may give it a glance one of these days, but given how most previous Terminator follow-ups haven’t exactly held up, you can perhaps understand why I hesitate. My strongest connection to the Terminator mythology is the character of Sarah Connor. I genuinely think she is one of the best characters in all of action-cinemadom. But I’ve already talked plenty about her in my piece on the first Terminator film,... Read more
How exactly did it take me this long to write about Charlie Chaplin in this space? I guess I can only attribute it to some internalized phobia of talking about silent films even though they not only form the bedrock of modern filmmaking but are also quite good on their own. Accept this apology, and let us all move on … If you don’t know Charlie Chaplin, permit me to direct you to my essay on his work from... Read more
I’m always impressed at how film can so quickly get you curious about things you are not necessarily familiar with. I think I’ve been in an arcade maybe three times in my life, but I really like Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph. The film sees the titular Wreck-it Ralph living in an arcade game where his purpose is to be the bad guy. The monster. The thing civilians toss off the roof at the very end after the good guy saves the... Read more
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