Punk angst – often expressed in music through stripped-down political, anti-mainstream rants – always starts somewhere. In We Are the Best!, an innocent yet voluminously raucous film about three young punk-obsessed girls, that origination point is Stockholm, in 1982. Directed by Lukas Moodysson and adapted from a graphic novel written by his wife Coco, the […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Night Moves’ (2014)
May 27, 2014 by
You cannot, as the saying goes, make a profit off a dead planet, and the three radical environmentalists who are the key players in Night Moves intend to ensure the earth’s survival in any manner possible. Directed and co-written by Kelly Reichardt, Night Moves revels in the trio’s low-key demeanor, their ease with silence and […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Filth’ (2014)
May 26, 2014 by
The Mars archetype works overtime in Filth, directed and written by Jon S. Baird, and based on Irvine Welsh’s book. While over the top aggression, anger, abuse, sexual addiction and the infliction of pain of every sort dominate the life of Scottish detective sergeant Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), the red planet that rules weaponry is […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Cold in July’ (2014)
May 18, 2014 by
Watching Cold in July is like getting on a bus and quickly realizing the increasingly sweaty and foreboding ride isn’t remotely heading for the destination named on your ticket. In this East Texas tale set in 1989, director and co-writer Jim Mickle sure dishes out some unexpected and grim-tasting BBQ. Based on Joe R. Lansdale’s […]
Astrology: Film: ‘The Immigrant’ (2013)
May 16, 2014 by
The song “What I Did for Love” would make a great backdrop as the final credits roll for The Immigrant. Directed by James Gray, the movie describes one woman’s nightmare of becoming a prisoner in New York, the city guarded by Lady Liberty herself. Directed and co-written by James Gray and set in 1921, the […]
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: ‘Chef’ (2014)
May 6, 2014 by
Every so often a movie comes along that gives a perfectly good archetype a complete overhaul. Chef, directed and written by actor Jon Favreau, who also stars, is one of those gems. At the beginning of the movie, while walking through an upscale California farmer’s market, culinary whiz Carl Casper (Favreau) reminds his 10-year-old son […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Neighbors’ (2014)
May 5, 2014 by
Wordsworth is no doubt turning over in his grave, knowing that his staid, elegant adage – “the child is father of the man” – has just gotten a 21st-century, frat-boy comedy makeover. Directed by Nicholas Stoller, Neighbors sledgehammers home the point that people’s adult actions are greatly imbued with their childhood behaviors. And because the […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Double’ (2014)
May 4, 2014 by
There’s nothing like being at odds with how one projects oneself into the world, and then, as a final blow, having fate drop in a doppelgänger who’s so much more charismatic than you. Bummer. Twice. That’s exactly the situation facing a shy, lonely young office clerk named Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) in The Double, directed […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014)
May 2, 2014 by
Spider-Man may soar through the air but what gives The Amazing Spider-Man 2 its lifeblood is the Underworld, a realm ruled by Pluto, the archetype that rules not only death but also healing, as well as the incisive, fearless research that set this mythic story rolling in the first place. Directed by Marc Webb, the […]
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