A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Alexander Payne, “Downsizing” (2017) For most viewers, perhaps the more interesting part of this long meandering film will be the first half in which main character…
British Films, North American Films
Burr Steers, “Pride + Prejudice + Zombies” (2016) At long last, instead of yet another BBC TV series adaptation or British / Hollywood movie version of…
Tim Wilkime, “Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 14: Adam Ruins Halloween)” (2017) Beneath the silliness is a sobering message that the scariest thing about life…
French and French-language Films
Claude Chabrol, “Les Biches / The Does” (1968) A beautifully elegant film of stylishness and subtle performances from its lead female characters, “Les Biches” is a…
Peter Crystal, “Treasures Decoded (Season 4, Episode 6: Shrunken Heads)” (2017) Shrunken human heads are the kind of macabre curio objects, beloved of museums and oddball…
Alex Kurtzman, “The Mummy” (2017) Somewhere in this hokey action blockbuster film is a story about flawed humans acting for purely selfish reasons and the consequences…
Ridley Scott, “Alien: Covenant” (2017) British director Ridley Scott must have taken all the criticisms of “Prometheus” to heart as he has delivered a new chapter…
Jordan Peele, “Get Out” (2017) Jordan Peele’s comedy horror film, his first as a director, about an interracial relationship that goes awry can be seen as…
Craig Zobel, “Compliance” (2012) Based on a series of incidents over a decade from the mid-1990s to 2004, in which a prank caller convinced the staff…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Zhang Yimou, “Raise the Red Lantern” (1991) This is a beautiful film of minimal, even severe and classic simplicity, that lets the cruelty and jealous passions…