In an age where no film is safe from being resold to fans as a lackluster remake, you’d think that a certain apathy would have set in by now. But few films have gotten the internet’s knickers in a bigger twist than the announced reboot of Paul Verhoeven’s ’80s classic RoboCop. Continue reading…
If there were a prize for world’s most controversial film, a top contender would certainly be The Devils, Ken Russell’s scathing look at the abuse of power by the French 17th-century Catholic church. Continue reading…
If Ralph Fiennes wants to show his acting chops in roles like Caius Martius Coriolanus and Charles Dickens, then audiences should consider themselves lucky that he has the resources to make the films himself. His sophomore directorial effort, The Invisible Woman, utilizes a more reserved approach than 2011’s Coriolanus that befits its Victorian setting. It also reveals a versatility of style that feels more sincere and natural than similar Hollywood fare. Continue reading…
The character of Jep Gambardella is turning 65, which would mean he was around 11 years old when Fellini’s masterpiece La Dolce Vita attempted to understand an Italy caught in the transformation from a fiercely traditionalist fascist nation to the epicenter of fashion, art, and excess. We will ignore the math, though, because in many ways we can see Gambardella as a version of what could have become of Mastroianni’s Marcello Rubini in that earlier film. Continue reading…
It’s December, which means that Hollywood is unfurling its top-shelf material for Oscar consideration. One such hopeful is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by and starring Ben Stiller. Continue reading…