… We think of justice as a quality that may exist in a whole community as well as in an individual, and the community is the bigger of the two. Possibly, then, we may find justice there in larger proportions,… Read More ›
book adaptation
Adaptation of Indonesian comic superhero “Gundala” kicks off the beginning of a grand adventure.
Take the brilliant stunt choreography of Indonesian action film The Night Comes for Us (2018), the intrigue of Indonesian thriller The Raid: Berandal (2014), and mix with superhero elements you know from various Marvel and DC storylines and you’ll get… Read More ›
Novel adaptation “The Goldfinch” is beautifully constructed and executed, yet feels somehow disconnected.
Published in 2013, Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch went on to earn best-selling status, along with the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014. It’s a book that — it seems — entranced readers, including future cast member Sarah Paulson (Ocean’s… Read More ›
Crime thriller “The Irishman” is Martin Scorsese at his most self-assured.
In his recent years, and more specifically in recent months, Martin Scorsese has really stepped away from the spotlight…oh my god, could you imagine if I was serious with that? The argument has been made that Scorsese made the controversial… Read More ›
Teen drama “Saving Zoë” shines a reflective light on the teenage experience.
Note: Saving Zoë deals with some dark elements that might trigger some, specifically in regards to sexual violence and/or violence against women. The concept of the “teen movie” has evolved over the years. Initially used as a rebellion against the… Read More ›
Despite some drawbacks, “Ladies in Black” is a charming and airy comedic drama.
Book adaptations are tricky beasts. Take the Game of Thrones series. Beloved by fans, readers, and television watchers alike, the finale season is drawing ire for a perceived underdevelopment of one of the lead characters. In the books by George… Read More ›
“Piercing” manipulates your expectations to great satisfaction.
February is becoming a strange month. Like January, February tends to be a dumping ground for films not likely to find an audience or for films leaning into Hallmark’s notion of love. While some aspects of this remain true (markets… Read More ›
Like the phrase itself suggests, “In Like Flynn” is incredibly charming, but not charming enough.
When anyone mentions the name Errol Flynn, those familiar likely think of the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood, a portrayal of the infamous bandit to which every future performance has been compared. Working in Hollywood for 26 years,… Read More ›
“The Hate U Give” can end with us.
There’s one phrase that runs through my head every day of every week of every year: You can’t see them all. At some point, trying to keep up with all of the films released in a year in theaters, digitally,… Read More ›
“Don’t Come Back From the Moon” is a meditation on the complexities of growing up and parenthood.
Parenthood is an experience which changes you in ways you can’t imagine until it happens to you. You can hear about it, you can be adjacent to it, but not until you become responsible for someone else’s everything does the… Read More ›
Director Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” explores the man behind the legend.
There’s something undeniably alluring about space. The way it feels both intimately close and desperately far; in range of our eyes, yet out from our hands. To quest beyond our atmosphere, to journey into the deep black, to discover what… Read More ›
Modern adaptation “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” beautifully captures the inherent chaotic spirit of love.
The beauty of William Shakespeare’s plays is their malleability to interpretation. Even the highest of the literati recognize that Shakespeare wrote for the multitudes, not just high class or lower born. As such, his plays contain a timeliness, enabling them… Read More ›
Youthful rebellion shakes ‘The House of Tomorrow’.
Black Flag. Sex Pistols. The Clash. The Ramones. The Stooges. The Vandals. R. Buckminster Fuller? Something doesn’t quite fit here, right? At first glance, the inclusion of Fuller in a row of punk rock elite seems utterly ridiculous until you… Read More ›
‘Love, Simon’ is a modern John Hughes film with a twist.
There’s been a wonderful resurgence in the teen dramedy subgenre in the last few years that’s given audiences films like The Edge of Seventeen and Saturday Church. Films that take an honest look at teens in a period of crisis… Read More ›
‘Everything, Everything’ is a perfectly flawed story of youth and love.
Summertime brings many things to the cinema. Thrills, frights, explosions, and most of all, love. In the case of Everything, Everything, directed by Stella Meghie, it’s a story of young love that follows an exceptionally predicable narrative: girl meets boy… Read More ›