The Dirties (Matthew Johnson, 2013)

The Dirties  is one of my favorite films of the year, an exceptionally timed black comedy about a lonely, movie-obsessed boy getting lost in...

Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel, 2013)

I've been dying to see this film for nearly a year and a half, and I'm thrilled to say that Leviathan more than lives up to its rep...

Pauline Kael—5001 Nights at the Movies

There's been a resurgence in publication of Pauline Kael's work in the last few years after a 2011 mini-renaissance that saw some bi...

The Smashing Pumpkins—Siamese Dream

I was never into the Smashing Pumpkins growing up, but a recent relisten to their catalog has been revelatory. Of them, Siamese Dream  is ob...

I Declare War (Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson, 2013)

Meaningless display of young machismo that mistakes depiction of extremity as commentary. A waste of time. Read my full review at Spectrum C...

24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002)

Post-punk is my favorite genre of music (one of these days, I must get back to my series of posts on The Fall, possibly my favorite band), a...

In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey (James Cullingham, 2013)

John Fahey is one of the best and most overlooked guitarists of the 20th century, and James Cullingham's mini-feature does about as good...

Talking Mystery Train with Allison Kupatt

I loved Jim Jarmusch's latest, Only Lovers Left Alive , so much when I saw it at TIFF that I was eager to revisit some of the director...

The Canyons (Paul Schrader, 2013)

I neither think of The Canyons  as a maligned film maudit nor a justified one. Instead, it is a film whose flaws are readily apparent but al...

Stranded (Roger Christian, 2013)

Poor Roger Christian, director of Battlefield Earth : who else could have a film this bad and it not be the worst of his career by a long sh...

Camille Claudel, 1915 (Bruno Dumont, 2013)

This was my first Bruno Dumont film, and I've heard it's something of a departure for casting so prominent a star as Juliette Binoch...

Halloween II (Rob Zombie, 2009)

Originally published at the now defunct Cinespect. Rob Zombie’s 2007 “Halloween” remake loosely applied the director’s quickly coalescing ti...

Metallica: Through the Never (Nimród Antal, 2013)

I've long outgrown my metal phase, but I still love to listen to Metallica. Even so, I never expected to like Through the Never as much...

Enough Said (Nicole Holofcener, 2013)

Belatedly linking to last week's review of the fine, sometimes beautiful Enough Said , which sports two incredible lead performance that...

Warner Archive Instants Picks of the Week (10/11/13—10/17/13)

The next Warner Archive picks. This time I'm joined by Ty Landis, who provides his own pick. Read 'em both here .

Warner Archive Instant Picks (10/4/13—10/10/13)

My first round of Warner Archive picks. Read 'em here .

King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard, 1987)

My Godard posts have all been first impressions, for better and worse (especially worse during my early attempts to grapple with him), but I...

TIFF Capsules

Here are links to the capsules I wrote for Movie Mezzanine during TIFF. This link contains capsules for Bastards (Claire Denis), Only Love...

Blu-Ray Review: The Big Parade (Warner)

Warner outdid themselves with this nearly flawless transfer of King Vidor's amazing The Big Parade . Barring some inevitable dropped fra...

TIFF Review: Gravity

My other post makes my feelings more plain, as this was a quickly written mini-review, but these were my first thoughts on the disappointing...

TIFF Review: Stray Dogs

I don't know when this will get distribution, but for now it is safely my favorite film of 2013, and, if it comes out next year, an extr...

Anti-Gravity: Why Alfonso Cuarón’s Space Odyssey Is Shortsighted About Long-Takes

So, I was one of a precious few people who found Gravity to be a mediocre film, not just in its weak script (which has been noted even by a...

Blu-Ray Review: Prince of Darkness (Shout!)

I cannot recommend the new Blu-Ray of Prince of Darkness enough. Having seen it alternately on DVD and streaming services, I was blown away...

Alain Badiou — In Praise of Love

As Badiou lays out in the early portions of his chat with Truong, love relies on risk, the cautious willingness of both parties to expose ...

Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter, 1987)

My initial review of Prince of Darkness was mostly negative, but it is the Carpenter film I have returned to most often, and the one that h...

Netflix Instant Picks (9/20—9/26)

Here's my final set of Netflix picks for Movie Mezzanine. I'll now be covering good finds on Warner Archive's excellent instant ...

An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 1951)

Yet if Singin’ in the Rain offers the more appealing, fluid movie, An American in Paris surpasses it as a work of filmmaking for its own s...

Keep Your Right Up (Jean-Luc Godard, 1987)

Mostly shot before King Lear but not completed and released until after that film’s Cannes premiere, Soigne ta droite , a.k.a. Keep Your Ri...

I Married a Witch (René Clair, 1942)

Over at Film.com, I've got a review up for René Clair's light but pleasing comedy I Married a Witch , out now from Criterion. It...

Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)

The following is October's entry in my (much-delayed) Blind Spots series. Dario Argento’s Suspiria is a film that only lets its audienc...

Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, 2013)

The stretch of Captain Phillips  in which the Maersk Alabama container ship is approached, boarded and scoured by pirates, suits the contou...