Reaction Shots

Anna May Wong (left) in a still from Outside the Law What is and what no longer is: texts and (dis)appearance or Gee, this is a lot to put on a fifteen year old There are three available early films that Anna May Wong has small parts in. Each one is a classic or near-classic in its own right and normally, I'd happily review and analyze each one based on their own individual merits. However, given the context of this series, I'm looking at these works in relation to Anna May Wong's overall life and career and more specifically, with what we know of what was going on in her life at the time these films were produced. We know that Anna May hung around movie sets, asked questions, and can surmise that she received more extra work and likely more uncredited roles than what we have documentation for. It's difficult to envision just how rapid turnover was for performers and crews from one film to another during the silent and early sound eras. We may safely assume that as volu...

Erik Bloomquist directs from a script by himself and his writing partner, brother Carson a not-bad stab (yes, I wrote that semi-intentionally) at a politic-centric slasher flick that has way too much going on and consequently, just can't quite deliver all the goods. It does deliver some, but it's too stuffed with characters that should have been elided or not given so much prominence (particularly as they relate to what should be a kind of conspiracy ring) because they lead to a denouement that lacks complete sense and just doesn't land. The gist of the film is that we're in a small northeastern town, could be New England, doesn't really matter and thankfully, no one is trying to do accents. There's a heated mayoral race going on between the current mayor, Blair Gladwell (Amy Hargreaves, who knows exactly what kind of movie she's in and leans as far into going big as possible and wonderfully so), running on a ticket of "consistency", and her oppone...

"I am Bella Baxter. I am a flawed, experimenting person. I seek outings and adventures. Bella's so much to discover. And there is a world to enjoy, circumnavigate. It is the goal of all to progress, grow." Ever find yourself musing about a mash-up of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Buñuel's Belle du Jour filtered through a Terry Gilliam aesthetic? No? Well, that's the best I can do to describe Lanthimos's lates work and it frankly doesn't go far enough. Following The Favourite might have been a tough act to follow, but he's done it with aplomb and I really don't want to spoil anything about the film but I also want to stay up and talk about it all night long. Yeah, it's one of those.  It's rare that a film so bursting with ideas, observation and depth comes along and is, as it happens, ridiculously darkly funny . The comparisons with Gilliam are apt, but Lanthimos is more profound and demanding than Gilliam.  Briefly, Emma Stone plays...

I took a break! It really wasn't (completely) unintentional, but I enjoyed just watching stuff and not hitting the keyboard to pour forth reflections, thoughts, analyses, and other brain droppings. The downside is that I missed writing, so I'm going to try to wrap up the year with a "what did you do on your holiday break" series. First off, I celebrated the big consumerist, Christianist day with two of my unabashed favorites. Die Hard , of course, but also, Richard Curtis's Love Actually . And yes, this is the first time it occurred to me that Alan Rickman is a cad in both of them. He is, arguably, a bigger cad in Die Hard , of course. However, let's note that he treats Emma Thompson (well, her character) pretty shabbily in Love Actually and that should solidify villainous bonafides as much as holding people hostages, murder, and grand theft. I doubt seriously that there is anything to say about either of these films that hasn't been said already. Thus, m...

After a rewatch after too many years of Election , it occurred to me that I was very much overdue for doing the same with Citizen Ruth . Then I started ticking off other films helmed by Alexander Payne and I was reminded me of the embarrassment of riches in his filmography. Sideways , About Schmidt , and Nebraska are, without putting too fine a point on it, classics pure and simple. The Descendants and Downsizing are often viewed as lesser works ( Downsizing , particularly, but I quite liked the The Descendants ) and with his latest, Payne delivers a lapidarian cinematic work, intimate and layered, if not particularly deep. It's a lovely small work, perfectly crafted and as with most of his films, it neither panders nor manipulates. Paul Giamatti rejoins Payne for the first time since Sideways and as usual, delivers a remarkable performance. His characterizations just feel "complete"; these are fully realized people. Some might argue that it's all in the writing, ...

"The Band has been together 16 years. Together, on the road. We did 8 years in bars, dives, dance halls, 8 years of concerts and stadiums, arenas. We gave our final concert, The Band's final concert, and we called it The Last Waltz." Robbie Robertson, The Last Waltz It's fitting that the new 4K restoration of Scorse's seminal documentary concert film The Last Waltz has found limited release from Fathom Events. It's glorious. That's really all anyone needs to say; Scorsese captured the indefinable joy of some of the greatest musicians who have ever lived, embodying the love of music and the mastery of expressing that love in a way that I don't think anyone else has since.  For sure, Stop Making Sense comes to mind as another great, innovative concert film, but the nature of Talking Heads is quite a good deal different from that of The Band, not to mention Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, et al. It isn't that one set of musician...

This is a Halloween recap. I couldn't decide which of the zillions zombie flicks I'd not seen I wanted to watch. I did know that I wanted one as far toward the opposite end of the spectrum as I could find.  Fortunately, one of my favorite Japanese auteurs came to the rescue. Takashi Miike is likely best known for Audition , a riveting, genuinely horrifying and unsettling film that I've not revisited in years because I found it so disturbing. At the same time, Miike has also penned and/or directed westerns, samurai, yakuza, and family friendly fare. With over a hundred films alone (let alone theater works, TV shows, shorts, etc.), he is the Robert Pollard of movies; even his worst is fascinating (that I've seen), but frequently, he's extremely accomplished and not infrequently, very close to great. For the record, Audition is great and I'd argue that Ichi the Killer is pretty close, and 13 Ronin . You can imagine my pleasure and surprise when I found out Miike-...