Cinema

Suicide Squad: Ayer’s supervillain blitz messy and unsatisfying

August 17th, 2016

Filmmaker David Ayer’s “Fury” featured muscular action, effective use of screen space, coherent storytelling logic, and — even though we knew they were doomed from the first trailer — a ragtag group of soldiers with distinct personalities.

Not surprisingly given the nonstop tales of creative second-guessing and executive interference, virtually none of these qualities are on hand in the frustrating “Suicide Squad,” a critic-proof franchise rocket launcher affiliated with…

More noir: four Bogarts

August 10th, 2016

“The Big Sleep” (1946), Howard Hawks’ mystery-thriller starring Humphrey Bogart, is one of the best movie adaptations of Raymond Chandler’s detective Philip Marlowe, mainly thanks to Lauren Bacall figuring prominently in the cast and her obvious chemistry with Bogart. It’s packed with snappy, witty dialogue, sexual innuendoes with daring implications for the era (like the outrageously clever bookstore sequence), and a mystery so convoluted that the process of the investigation…

Mortensen is Captain Fantastic

August 10th, 2016

Filmmaker Matt Ross’s “Captain Fantastic” pursues a multifaceted thematic agenda as it explores the unorthodox off-the-grid lifestyle of a politically energized father of six, played to prickly perfection by Viggo Mortensen.

Despite the film’s “power to the people, stick it to the man” refrain, Ross accomplishes his most satisfying returns by examining the universally recognizable toll of grief on a nuclear family.

While some key moments test the limits of believability, Ross…

Westerns beyond formula

August 3rd, 2016

As well as iconic scenery, period settings, costumes and props, the Western genre is noted for its predictable, easy-to-follow morality plays of good vs. evil, even though story subtext might often reflect contemporary concerns. After the success of “Stagecoach” (1939) and especially after World War II, however, major directors at major studios would more frequently use the Western as a framework for psychological drama and social criticism.

A number of memorable westerns produced…

Mertens tries not to cross the streams in “Ghostheads” doc

August 3rd, 2016

Following a work-in-progress premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Brendan Mertens’ “Ghostheads” moves to Netflix to capitalize on the theatrical release of Paul Feig’s “Ghostbusters” reboot.

Pitched to crowdfunders as a “documentary that explores the extreme side of Ghostbusters fandom, and looks back at the impact the franchise has had on the world over the past three decades,” Mertens’ film favors the former, exploring the cosplay subculture that devotes much time,…

Personal drama examines life in modern China

July 27th, 2016

“Mountains May Depart” (2015), written and directed by acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke, came out on Blu-ray this month from Kino Video.

It’s Zhangke’s first narrative feature since his Cannes Palme d’Or nominee “A Touch of Sin” (2013), which Kino released to Blu-ray in 2014. Both films are effective critiques of social problems and alienation that are by no means limited to modern China.

In “A Touch of Sin” Zhangke looked at the growth of violence in China in…

Feig’s “Ghostbusters” fires up the proton packs

July 27th, 2016

The insightful Caity Birmingham recently said, “Someday we'll be able to give ‘Ghostbusters’ an honest B- and cite ten movies that did the female scientist action buddy movie so much better.” You gotta admire the optimism in Ms. Birmingham’s note, since the discourse in the months – even years – leading up to Paul Feig’s parallel universe/remake/reboot/reimagining of the hugely popular 1984 comedy phenomenon has focused on an awful lot of ugly and ignorant outbursts…

New Blu-rays a treat for film noir fans

July 22nd, 2016

It’s been a good period for film noir on Blu-ray this year, as the genre (or subgenre or style, depending on who is defining it) seems to be enjoying a renaissance of popularity, with its flawed anti-heroic characters, fashionably dark cynicism, and stylish low-key cinematography. A nice variety of titles both classic and obscure have been getting quality Blu-ray editions from several distributors, including Kino, Olive, Twilight Time, Criterion, Flicker Alley, and even Warner. Here…

What We Had Was Good: Prince and Girl 6

July 20th, 2016

In 1996, six years following the disappointment of “Graffiti Bridge,” Prince agreed to provide the soundtrack music for director Spike Lee’s “Girl 6.” The project would mark the artist’s final full-scale cinematic collaboration, even though filmmakers continued to use his material and seek him out.

Functionally, the “Girl 6” record — credited to Prince even though at the time he was using the unpronounceable symbol to signify his name — constitutes a fantastic collection…

A rare glimpse into the Native American past

July 13th, 2016

After its fortuitous rediscovery about a decade or so ago, followed by a painstaking restoration, the long-lost silent melodrama “The Daughter of Dawn” received a limited theatrical release in 2014 and is finally being made available for Blu-ray home viewing next week. The independently produced 1920 feature had only a few showings when first made and then disappeared for nearly a century.

What is nearly unique about this historic 78-minute film is that it featured a cast made up…

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