Although set in Dorset, England, in 1870, period movie Far from the Madding Crowd is a modern take on relational independence and interdependence, the age-old push-pull between affectionate Venus and emotionally free-from-all-ties Uranus. Written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg and based on the classic Thomas Hardy novel, the movie opens with heroine Bathsheba Everdene (Carey […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Welcome to Me’ (2015)
April 26, 2015 by
Welcome to Me is a fairytale for grown-ups. Its message? The way to address life’s limitations is often through embracing further limitations. Primed to learn this lesson – the hard way – is the film’s deluded heroine Alice Klieg (Kristen Wiig). Alice, a 30-something denizen of Palm Desert, California, who suffers from borderline personality disorder, […]
Archetypes: Television: Review: ‘The Americans’ Season 3 (2015): Parent-Child. Parent-Asset
April 23, 2015 by
Children are the most personal entities in the world. But, in the spy arena, to refer to someone in the field as a nameless “asset” is as impersonal as it gets. “The Americans” sees these two categories of individuals – neither of whom, for different reasons, are capable of fending for themselves and ensuring their […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘True Story’ (2015)
April 13, 2015 by
On the surface, True Story is about the connection between a disgraced reporter and a man on trial for murdering four members of his family in the early aughts. Directed by Rupert Goold, the drama, at its core, is about the challenges and transformational potential of communication. Mercurial activities, such as conversation and writing, are […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’ (2015)
April 7, 2015 by
A bit of meteorological magic – fast-moving clouds that take on the appearance of a determined snake energetically moving through the Maloja Pass in the Swiss Alps – oversees the transformations at the heart of Clouds of Sils Maria. Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, the movie provides extensive details about this phenomenon which, from […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Ex Machina’ (2015)
April 6, 2015 by
Artificial intelligence, a boon when it brews coffee and cleans the house, has its dark side. What happens if it becomes less obviously “artificial,” to the point where humans can no longer pinpoint the “otherness” of the carrier? All intelligence is Mercurial, but what happens if flesh-and-blood smarts are no longer capable of picking out […]
Archetypes: Television: Review: ‘Better Call Saul’ (2015): ‘Pimento’: Oh, Brother!
March 31, 2015 by
During his run as the affable, fast-talking criminal attorney in “Breaking Bad,” Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) was essentially the collegial “brother-in-crime.” After last night’s “Pimento” episode of “Better Call Saul,” it’s clear that Saul’s depraved clients in the future were probably more brotherly than his real life older brother Chuck (Michael McKean). Astrological Mercury rules […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘While We’re Young’ (2015)
March 23, 2015 by
In the creation of art, does the maker’s lack of adherence to a solid level of truthiness nullify the creation? That’s the question posed by Noah Baumbach, the writer and director of While We’re Young, who uses two couples from different generations as his conduits. Representing the mid-40s demographic is married couple Josh and Cornelia. […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘White God’ (2015)
March 22, 2015 by
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: Television: Review: ‘iZombie’ (2015)
March 18, 2015 by
You are what you eat plays out big time in CW’s undead-medical procedural “iZombie,” adapted from a comic book series by the creatives that brought you “Veronica Mars.” “iZombie” features another plucky female, the well named Olivia “Liv” Moore (Rose McIver), a medical resident whose life literally transforms one night during some zombie mayhem at […]
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