Nomadland (Zhao, 2020)
It is admittedly difficult these days to separate the pleasure of having any new movie to watch from the pleasures induced by a particular film. That caveat aside, I could… Continue reading "Nomadland (Zhao, 2020)"
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Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something (Korn, 2020)
The singular thing about Harry Chapin is not that he promoted causes in and through his musical performances but that he managed to do so in a way that endeared… Continue reading "Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something (Korn, 2020)"
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The State of Texas vs. Melissa
Nearly a quarter of a century ago, a little girl named JonBenét Ramsey was murdered . Like so many other idle observers, I immediately assumed one or more members of… Continue reading "The State of Texas vs. Melissa"
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Martin Eden (Marcello, 2019)
When I first heard that Jack London’s political novel Martin Eden was being made as a film set in modern-day Naples, I wasn’t sure how well the book’s themes would… Continue reading "Martin Eden (Marcello, 2019)"
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Native Son (Chenal, 1951)
Is it possible for a film to be simultaneously mediocre (bordering on bad) and essential? Native Son has a lot of stuff wrong with it as a film. Wright was… Continue reading "Native Son (Chenal, 1951)"
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A Call to Spy (Pilcher, 2019)
My go-to television contrarian take for the last decade or so has been an insistence that Stana Katic more or less kept a mediocre show called Castle afloat while her… Continue reading "A Call to Spy (Pilcher, 2019)"
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Driven to Abstraction (Price, 2019)
Is it really impossible to forge a Jackson Pallock painting?
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Summer Streaming — 2020
Summerland Made In Italy Tesla Measure for Measure Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy
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Days of the Whale (Arroyave Restrepo, 2019)
The selling point for Days the Whale, at least for me, was the setting. It is set in Medellín, but it isn’t about drug traffickers. That alone makes it worth… Continue reading "Days of the Whale (Arroyave Restrepo, 2019)"
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Boys State (Moss, 2020)
“And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me / He’d grown up just like me / My boy was just like me.” — “Cats in the Cradle,”… Continue reading "Boys State (Moss, 2020)"