The romance of the past is buried beneath the fatalism of the present in Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera.”
Starring Josh O’Connor as Arthur, a British archaeologist turned ‘tombaroli’ grave robber, the film grapples with the spiritual mystique of the ancients, as unearthed by lost cynics of the contemporary era.
Arthur, a recent prison parolee, is the very image of a dead man walking. The love of his life seems to have vanished into the ether, and he faces no dilemma…
I almost never think of my exes. I think quite often, though, of my former tennis partners and opponents.
“Tennis is a relationship,” Zendaya’s character Tashi tells her duo of perpetual pursuers in “Challengers.” It’s a line and concept that anchor Luca Guadagnino’s film, from its opening seconds of fiercely opposed gazes, to its closing moments, when the sets of eyes unite in understanding through competitive adversity. “Challengers” is one of the smartest Hollywood films in years; one that can…
“Auto Focus” is Paul Schrader’s diatribe against cancel culture; oddly enough, it comes off as the most unsuitably over-polished of all the director’s work.
The film is a true story biopic of Bob Crane, a radio host who rose to fame on obtaining the lead role in the WWII sitcom, “Hogan’s Heroes.” What starts off as a predilection towards pornography eventually derails Crane’s entire career, as his family friendly image dropped away in the face of sex addiction.
Although the screenplay…
The violence in the hearts of men never really fades. It freezes into their being like a permafrost that thaws only with an explosive blast of fire and fury.
Paul Schrader’s 1997 film “Affliction” is one of the director’s most structurally ambitious films, and a true acting showcase for its male leads. It is also, as its director once claimed in an interview, outside his usual wheelhouse, with its themes of inherited familial trauma. While perhaps not a topic explicit…
Disney, its time to come out of the closet.
I understand you are worried about how your family; Russia and China, will perceive you. It’s totally fair that you are concerned about them cutting you off.
But you have friends that will support you.
Friends, that, you have led along for years now. Most especially since “Frozen.” Friends who believe that you have intentions to live your truest self.
I have to say; someone in your position coming out would…
Is it better to be remembered or liked? It’s a question with little more practical utility for the majority of people than, say, trying to play a fiddle with four fingers.
The idea nonetheless becomes the preoccupation of one of the characters of Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin,” played by Brendan Gleeson. One day, after pondering the dilemma, he decides that he will abruptly cut off friendship with his best mate (Colin Farrell), and choose legacy over likability.
McDonagh,…
