Jane Got a Gun
Jane Got a Gun (2016, USA, d. Gavin O’Connor, 98 Minutes) By Jesse Stringer Since 2011, Jane Got a Gun has undergone more production problems than a film [...]
Mustang
Mustang (2015, Turkey, d. Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 97 minutes) by Robert Joseph Butler Female writer-director Deniz Gamze Ergüven Oscar nominated feature film debut “Mustang” is a timely and [...]
Moonraker
Moonraker (1979), the most outlandish of the first fourteen James Bond masterpieces (which are also the only entries I consider “official”), defies virtually every standard of knowledge and canon of respectability [...]
Thoughts on the Homespun Wisdom of L. Frank Baum, the Oz books, and The Wizard of Oz (1939)
by Barry Germansky L. Frank Baum may lack the linguistic brilliance of Lewis Carroll, but he is certainly a formidable wordsmith. What is more, he possesses two qualities that are [...]
13 Hours
13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016, USA, d. Michael Bay, 144 mins) by Robert Joseph Butler Michael Bay's brutal and intense 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers [...]
Son of Saul
Son of Saul (2015, Hungary, d. László Nemes, 107 Minutes) by Jesse Stringer The film opens out of focus. From the depth comes a figure walking toward [...]
The Revenant
The Revenant (2015, USA, d. Alejandro G. Innaritu, 156 Minutes) by Robert Joseph Butler Brutal in depiction, visceral in experience, and visually arresting to endure, The Revenant [...]
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) is endlessly rewarding. The rubber Gill-man suit at the film's core has the abstracting power of an African mask, and director Jack Arnold instinctively recognizes this epistemological [...]
The Top 10 Films of 2015
by Robert Joseph Butler An aging actress realizes her career is quickly passing by. Two great animated films in one year, as well as two great wintry westerns in one [...]
Anomalisa
Anomalisa (2015, USA, d. Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, 90 minutes) by Robert Joseph Butler It was only a matter of time before idiosyncratic and renowned screenwriter [...]