Film Reviews & Insights
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 [...]
Carol
Carol (2015, USA, d. Todd Haynes, 118 Minutes) by Robert Joseph Butler An undeniable highlight of the year, Todd Haynes’s sixth feature is an exquisite adaptation [...]
45 Years
45 Years (2015, United Kingdom, d. Andrew Haigh, 95 Minutes) by Robert Joseph Butler Writer-Director Andrew Haigh’s (Weekend - 2011) "45 Years" is one of the most engaging [...]
The Shining
The Shining (1980) is the fullest representation of Stanley Kubrick’s self-conscious alienating lens. The film is more about Kubrick, the polymorphous satirist, than Stephen King, the modern master of the colloquial horror tale. This [...]