Released in 1978, “Days of Heaven” was Terrence Malick’s second film which came some five years after his debut “Badlands”. Much like his first movie, “Days of Heaven” had a lengthy production time full of delays, budget issues, and departures from crew members frustrated with Malick’s idiosyncratic, hands-on approach to filmmaking. After finishing “Days of … Continue reading
I try not to get too caught up in the highly publicized true crime tragedies that capture our national spotlight and often play out on our television screens. One that did grab me was the 2018 disappearance and murder of pregnant mother Shanann Watts and her two young daughters four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste. The … Continue reading
There is so much packed into the new Japanese drama “A Girl Missing” – jealousy, spite, brokenness, and revenge. It looks at elderly care and rabid news media. Guilt by association and the dangers of keeping quiet only scratch the film’s thematic surface. You would think a movie with this many narrative tendrils would have … Continue reading
The Sundance hit “Minari” has been among my most anticipated films and yesterday A24 only solidified my excitement by dropping a new trailer. This family drama from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and its Audience Award earlier this year and many believe it is primed and ready for an awards … Continue reading
It may not sound like it but “Dick Johnson is Dead” may be one of the most unique love letters ever put on screen. This unusual documentary mixes together a near morbid playfulness with genuine heartbreak. Through its off-beat process the film becomes an uncomfortably funny and strangely cathartic mediation on mortality. And it’s examined … Continue reading
I wasn’t long out of high school when a short-tempered sociopathic Chihuahua named Ren Höek and a kind-hearted but dense Manx cat named Stimpy made their debut on Nickelodeon. It was August of 1991 and it only took one episode for me to be hooked. During its run the darkly funny and sometimes surreal cartoon … Continue reading
