If a movie is titled Fences and its protagonist has had his dreams of being a baseball star crushed, it’s fair to consider that sport’s well known adage. To “swing for the fences” refers to players who literally aim to hit the ball over a field’s barriers, scoring a home run. That sort of physical […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk’ (2016)
November 6, 2016 by
Much of the anticipation surrounding Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk involves both the film’s 4K ultra-high resolution and 3D run at 120-frames-a-second. This experimental technique, created by the film’s director, Ang Lee, is designed to foster a greater level of cinematic artistic expression. And the speed – five times that of traditional movies – gives […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘45 Years’ (2015)
December 12, 2015 by
When a marriage lasts nearly half a century, presumably the partners have figured out a way to romp in the garden without stomping on the flowers. But because every spring blasts new growth, who can predict what seasonal surprises lurk in the soil? In the case of Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Geoff […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Son of Saul’ (2015)
December 12, 2015 by
No matter what privileges they give you, the enemy is still the enemy, an adage at the heart of Holocaust drama Son of Saul, whose protagonist must figure out how to use a benefit bestowed by his oppressor to create a personal testimony to goodness before he dies. Directed by Hungarian László Nemes, the movie […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Youth’ (2015)
November 28, 2015 by
Do artists in their twilight years have a moral obligation to continue to make art? Or are they entitled to wind down the time they’ve got left by internalizing their gifts? Youth, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, grapples with this question in a visually gratifying film whose transcendent moments seem to mimic the creative […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’ (2015)
November 26, 2015 by
Amy Berg’s documentary about Janis Joplin, Janis: Little Girl Blue, doesn’t tell us whether the ‘60s R&B rocker was a serious student of astrology. But twice in the film Joplin notes she’s a Capricorn. Turns out the girl knew enough about her sun sign to aim high and not take no for an answer. However, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Creed’ (2015)
November 25, 2015 by
What could be worse than being the son of an absentee father? Try being illegitimate, and having Dad – an iconic boxer – die before you were born. Those are the sizable issues gnawing at the soul of the protagonist of Creed, the sixth sequel in the Rocky franchise. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Mistress America’ (2015)
August 8, 2015 by
In the same way people steal content and images off the Internet, some folks arbitrarily co-opt the lives of others, using them, as would heartless deities, for sport. Such psychic and experiential theft is at the core of Mistress America. Directed and co-written by Noah Baumbach, the movie is essentially the tale a sudden friendship […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Trainwreck’ (2015)
July 14, 2015 by
It’s every dad’s dream that his little girl lovingly takes to heart the life lessons he drops like pearls. In Trainwreck, one daughter who embraced such messages years ago now finds herself on a bleak road trying to undo the sins of the father. Directed by Judd Apatow, the movie starts as young Amy and […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Self/less’ (2015)
July 5, 2015 by
Death means disintegration of the body, as well as the evaporation of every thought and mental talent the deceased ever accrued in life. Damian Hale, a wealthy real estate mogul with terminal cancer, is one of those people who’d like to stick around a bit longer. Self/Less, a medical thriller directed by Tarsem Singh, explores […]
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