Political allegories are rarely as thrilling as White God, a film in which mixed-breed canines are stand-ins for oppressed peoples who rise up when irrevocably marginalized and mistreated by the system. The movie screened at New Directors/New Films, program jointly presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. At […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Chappie’ (2015)
March 5, 2015 by
The feeling- and consciousness-infused machine has been one of cinema’s more popular go-to sci-fi archetypes. Add the titular robot of Chappie to that list. Set in a near-future Johannesburg that’s riddled by crime gangs, Neill Blomkamp, the movie’s co-writer and director, has created a parable – sandwiched between two revenge tales – about one man’s […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Lazarus Effect’ (2015)
February 25, 2015 by
The Resurrection archetype never, well, dies. The savior revivified in Christianity, the phoenix arising from its ashes in mythology and the undead walking amongst us in pop culture all demonstrate that life-after-death is the gift that keeps on giving, as it does in The Lazarus Effect. Directed by David Gelb, and with its titular nod […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ (2015)
February 13, 2015 by
Kingsman: The Secret Service seems pleased to be nothing more than a good-guys-save-the-world film. But at the archetypal level, the movie is way more than its display of outlandish, cartoon-like derring do. This is about legacy, fathers and sons. Directed by Matthew Vaughn and based on the comic book series, Kingsman is the name of […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Chinese Puzzle’ (2014)
May 11, 2014 by
Embracing and developing the Libran qualities of fairness, cooperation and balance are essential to a successful relationship. And in Chinese Puzzle, directed and written by Cédric Klapisch, Xavier Rousseau (Romain Duris) – a recurring character in Klapisch’s The Spanish Apartment and Russian Dolls – needs to learn those balancing lessons in a hurry. Xavier is […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Ida’ (2014)
April 28, 2014 by
Can a sacrificial offering really count if the person making the gesture has no clear idea of the value of what’s she’s giving up? That’s the question at the heart – literally – of Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida, a Polish-language movie whose breathtakingly austere black and white cinematography underscores the all-or-nothing dimensions of its subject and […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Locke’ (2014)
April 21, 2014 by
There’s no end to the drama that can place in the confines of an automobile. Drag racing, sudden death and frisky mayhem in the back seat are only a partial vehicular legacy. But if you’re looking for the “Mother of Car Movies,” it’s Locke, a riveting piece of cinema in which the protagonist deconstructs his […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Joe’ (2014)
April 7, 2014 by
Fighting for and protecting another person usually mean one thing. You’re already pretty good at wielding your fists on your own behalf. That’s an apt description of Joe Ransom (Nicolas Cage), the titular character of the movie Joe, directed by David Gordon Green and based on a book by Gary Brown. Toiling in an impoverished […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Cuban Fury’ (2014)
April 6, 2014 by
Bullies will stop at nothing to brutalize their victims. But making a male teen eat the sequins from his salsa dance costume is one for the books. It’s also a critical plot point in Cuban Fury, an appealing tale of a sad sack who pulls himself up by his bootstraps – make that dancing shoes […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Under the Skin’ (2014)
April 4, 2014 by
Before extraterrestrials became pop culture’s ultimate “other” – entities whose plasma, motivations and origins were defined by their mystery – a predecessor “alien” hogged the limelight. The more primitive version of the terrifyingly enigmatic was the female. And, in Under the Skin, these two mythic and incomprehensible figures – one from earth, the other from […]
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