Posted in November 2015 …

Review: The 33, 2015, dir. Patricia Riggen

Review: The 33, 2015, dir. Patricia Riggen

“Patricia Riggen’s The 33 ends appropriately with a seaside reunion between its cast’s real-life counterparts: The cadre of Chilean miners who lived buried beneath a mountain for 69 days in the 2010 Copiapó mining calamity. One by one, Riggen introduces her audience to these men in a beautifully lit scene that pays homage to the … Continue reading →

Set Visit Report: The Finest Hours

Set Visit Report: The Finest Hours

“If you’ve never hunkered down in your den, hot cocoa in hand, ready to wait out the gusting winds and extensive precipitation that come packaged in a nor’easter, then count yourself lucky. A nor’easter storm is no joke, even if you’re at home with all the necessary accoutrements to get through its duration in one … Continue reading →

Review: Entertainment, 2015, dir. Rick Alverson

Review: Entertainment, 2015, dir. Rick Alverson

“Rick Alverson’s Entertainment is best described as a case of willfully false advertising. “Entertainment,” to Alverson, is an invocation of abject human misery rather than a promise of amusement and delight. His film offers neither pleasure nor diversion—instead, it spiritually brutalizes its viewers with a portrait of one comedian’s professional struggles on a road trip … Continue reading →

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 3.06, “Into the Woods”

TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 3.06, “Into the Woods”

“Like many sitcoms, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s chief traits are the relationships between its characters. Whether it’s Boyle’s unfaltering loyalty to Jake, Jake’s odd couple professional bond with Holt, Holt’s mentor-mentee rapport with Amy, or Amy’s socially imbalanced encounters with everybody in the office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine best thrives when the writing creates a space where these characters … Continue reading →

TV Review: Ash vs. Evil Dead, 1.02, “Bait”

TV Review: Ash vs. Evil Dead, 1.02, “Bait”

“After last week’s high-octane masterclass in zombie butt-kicking, Ash vs. Evil Dead has decided to slow down the pace a bit with its second episode. But don’t mistake “Bait” as a sign of post-pilot slumping: the show remains top notch even as it takes a necessary detour on the road to sending the Deadites back … Continue reading →

Interview: Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift

Interview: Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift

“For a writer best known for penning large scale stories, Travis Beacham’s enthusiasm for small stakes comes as something of a surprise. 2010’s Clash of the Titans, which Beacham wrote an early draft for, threw the balance of power among Greek gods into turmoil; more notably, 2013’s Pacific Rim, which Beacham co-wrote with Guillermo del Toro, put the very survival of humanity … Continue reading →

Review: The Hallow, 2015, dir. Corin Hardy

Review: The Hallow, 2015, dir. Corin Hardy

“If you’re the type of person who avoids setting foot in a forest, you’ll probably feel validated byThe Hallow, the debut from Irish filmmaker Corin Hardy. This is a horror film that treats the natural world as a source of mortal danger. Here there be monsters, yet Hardy’s macabre aesthetic lends even an undisturbed bosk … Continue reading →