At some point in the mess that is Avengers: Age of Ultron, the titular heroes retreat to a bucolic, isolated farm, owned by the archer known as Clint Barton/Hawkeye. Serving as the place where he stashes his kids, and inexplicably Linda Cardellini (unfortunately relegated here to a doting housewife), the Barton ranch sequence encapsulates everything…Read more Film Review: Avengers – Age of Ultron (2015)
Film Review: White God (2014)
For anyone who has ever loved, cared for, or, hell, even petted a dog, White God will prove to be a searing, uncomfortable experience. Meshing heightened-realism with allegorical horror, Hungarian writer/director Kornel Mundruczo's film powerfully connects on both an intellectual and emotional level. Although perhaps a little on the long side, White God is a…Read more Film Review: White God (2014)
Film Review: Hot Rod (2007)
In 2004 Will Ferrell cemented himself as the premiere comedy star with Anchorman. With its barrage of gags, unapologetic stupidity and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ethos, it was a definitive comedy film of the "aughts." Nearly ten years later, the long-gestating sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, was released. Overlong and forced, the film embodied that classic adage:…Read more Film Review: Hot Rod (2007)
Film Review: Spellbound (1945)
A good friend of mine once said that your average Alfred Hitchcock film consists of little more than "white people eating on trains." With him not typically sprouting off contrarian views, I was surprised by this statement and more than a little amused. It also colored my subsequent viewings of Hitch's work. No longer do…Read more Film Review: Spellbound (1945)
“Do You Really Think This Will Change Anything?” – How Marvel’s Daredevil is a Half-Measure
Superheroics are inherently stupid, and the best comics acknowledge this. The Batman canon has wallowed in this harsh truth for years, with its characters (in every medium) openly wondering if the Caped Crusader does more bad than good. Moore famously designed his seminal superhero text Watchmen to be the genre's epitaph. Its central cast of…Read more “Do You Really Think This Will Change Anything?” – How Marvel’s Daredevil is a Half-Measure
Double Feature: Into the Woods – Dracula Untold (2014)
Welcome to the first Adam Mohrbacher Double Feature! This is a new type of post where yours truly will attempt to quell the inherent verbosity of my writing. This is, essentially, an exercise for my benefit only, where I will challenge myself to review two similarly-themed films in under 1000 words. Now, for those well-versed…Read more Double Feature: Into the Woods – Dracula Untold (2014)
Film Review: A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
Ana Lily Amirpour's freshman effort, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, is the ultimate example of a hodgepodge film. Self-described as "the first Iranian vampire western," Amirpour's audacious narrative does indeed dance across multiple genres. As many "critics" have noted, the film also tips its hat to the work of the video store brats…Read more Film Review: A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
Film Review: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Anyone familiar with Francis Ford Coppola's work will know that his 70s films, despite their frequently violent subject matter, were often characterized by marvelous restraint. This makes his career progression in later decades all the more fascinating. For example, after a decade of commercial failures Coppola emerged from the 1980s with two pieces of cinematic lunacy:…Read more Film Review: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Film Review: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Steeped in atmospheric dread, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre is easily one of the most distinctive vampire movies ever made. With its mystical imagery and foreboding score, the film gradually takes on the appearance of a bad dream, a waking nightmare from which none of the characters can escape. That being said, it is not…Read more Film Review: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
The Psychotic Rebel – A Dramaturgical Analysis of American Psycho
For most who have encountered the character of Patrick Bateman – either in the original 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, or in its adaptation starring Christian Bale – it is difficult to associate him as a symbol of rebellion. Greedy, misogynistic and utterly vapid, the character seems to be a rock-solid personification…Read more The Psychotic Rebel – A Dramaturgical Analysis of American Psycho
Adam Mohrbacher 