My interest in the French Revolution began several years ago. I was in Paris and shamelessly decided this was where I'd read Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities for the first time. Putting aside the face-palming aspects of that decision (cause, you know, I must have looked REAL cool reading THAT book in THAT city), I…Read more Film Review: Farewell, My Queen (2012)
Film Reviews
Film Review: Game Change (2012)
One of the most engaging appearances in Game Change, the 2012 HBO film about Sarah Palin and the 2008 election, is not Julianne Moore take on the infamous former governor of Alaska. It is actually Tina Fey, who spectacularly impersonated Palin in a number of SNL skits during the '08 cycle, and who has continued to…Read more Film Review: Game Change (2012)
Film Review: The Family Man (2000)
Nicolas Cage and his lunatic energy have often proven hard to neuter, although not for a lack of trying. 2000's The Family Man, which sees Cage as a Wall Street goon who magically gets a chance to live an alternate life, is a perfect example of this. This melodrama attempts to curtail the thespian's obvious…Read more Film Review: The Family Man (2000)
Film Review: A Dangerous Method (2011)
"Sometimes you have to do something unforgivable, just to be able to go on living." This line, uttered by Michael Fassbender's Carl Jung near the conclusion of David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, is indicative of the film's gravity and ambition. Focusing primarily on Jung's semi-fruitful/semi-tortured relationships with Viggo Mortensen's Sigmund Freud and Keira Knightly's Sabrina Spielrein,…Read more Film Review: A Dangerous Method (2011)
Film Review: Confirmation (2016)
The HBO film Confirmation, which premiered on the network last April, benefits greatly from the time of its release. Depicting the 1991 confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which became a media circus when sexual harassment charges were leveled at Thomas by law professor Anita Hill, Confirmation asks provocative questions about race, gender…Read more Film Review: Confirmation (2016)
Film Review: Stroszek (1977)
After finishing my graduate program last month, I decided to treat myself to a few presents. Ok, quite a few presents. Fine, more like a couple of shopping sprees. One of the more notable items that arrived during this barrage of Amazon deliveries was a collection of Werner Herzog films, aptly titled Herzog: The Collection.…Read more Film Review: Stroszek (1977)
Film Review: The Mission (1986)
In attempting to sum up a film like 1986's religious epic The Mission, one word comes to mind: schism. Beautiful and ugly, complex and glaringly simplistic, The Mission is a big, powerful and, at times, amazing film. It is also, however, a film at war with itself, never gelling into a fully-realized masterwork. Perhaps it's…Read more Film Review: The Mission (1986)
Film Review: The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Considering its high box office and favorable reviews, a sequel to 2013's The Conjuring always had a feeling of inevitability. This year's unimaginatively titled The Conjuring 2 fulfills this possibility, reuniting director James Wan, stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, and screenwriters Chad and Carey Hayes in the process. Working together, this team offers up…Read more Film Review: The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Film Review: Shadow of a Vampire (2000)
Most people with even a cursory awareness of art cinema have seen or heard of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, F.W. Murnau's 1922 masterwork. Nosferatu is a film so powerfully rendered, so insanely memorable, that its continuing resonance over the past nine decades feels self-explanatory. This resonance has taken on many forms: from the appearance of the Nosferatu…Read more Film Review: Shadow of a Vampire (2000)
Film Review: Rasputin – Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)
Many were hit hard by Alan Rickman's death this past January, and it's easy to understand why. Immortalized by the Harry Potter franchise for his role as anti-hero Severus Snape, Rickman loomed large over a generation of moviegoers. The resonance of this role is so powerful that it's occasionally difficult to remember the varied nature of…Read more Film Review: Rasputin – Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)
Adam Mohrbacher 