In the Green episode of Netflix’s limited series Kaleidoscope, the lead character bemoans how people have a tendency to get stuck in ruts and find “new ways to do the same old shit.” While perhaps overly harsh, the show itself could be considered an exercise in exactly that. A very novel and innovative viewing method… Read More A Heist of a Different Color | Kaleidoscope (2023) Netflix Limited Series
I love movies. Let me start with that lest I sound too negative right off the bat. I’ve been obsessed with movies most of my life and have many fond memories of watching countless films on the big screen. All the time I spent in darkened movie theaters over the years played a critical role… Read More R.I.P. Cinema – Leaving the Theatrical Experience to Nostalgia
Now in its third season, Amazon’s Jack Ryan has all the superficial trappings of being a blockbuster marquee title for the streamer. Based (very loosely) on the bestselling book series by the late Tom Clancy, the show is flashy and obviously expensive, with ambitious globe-hopping storylines and plenty of high-octane action. (Michael Bay is among… Read More Back in the U.S.S.R. | Jack Ryan Season 3 (2022) on Amazon Prime
I seem to be out of step with both critical and popular opinion on Guillermo del Toro’s new stop-motion animated remake of Pinocchio. I watched that one without so much as checking Rotten Tomatoes or Letterboxd and thought it was kind of awful, only to find nearly everyone else in the world proclaiming it a… Read More No Strings on Me | Pinocchio (1940) Blu-ray
With five TV series on the air in 2022, all of which he claims primary writing credit for, prolific creator/producer Taylor Sheridan may have just about hit his limit. 1923, the newest entry in his Yellowstone saga, is a very dull affair that not even Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren can bring to any life.… Read More That’s Ranching for You | 1923 (2022) Paramount+ Series Premiere
For The Banshees of Inisherin, writer/director Martin McDonagh reunites Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, the stars of his 2008 cult hitman comedy In Bruges. The two films may be very different in terms of story, incident, and tone, but both share an incisive wit and blisteringly funny ear for character dialogue. The lead actors’ previous… Read More Niceness Doesn’t Last | The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
I am frankly puzzled at why anyone felt the world needed two Pinocchio remakes in the same year, much less two bad ones. Disney’s official live-action adaptation directed by Robert Zemeckis was a pretty big bust when it streamed on Disney+ just a few months ago. Now we have another Oscar-winning filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro,… Read More These-a Puppets I Do Not Like | Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
I awoke Monday morning to two surprises: snow on the ground (the first of the season) and the 2023 Golden Globe Award nominations being announced on the Today show. I thought we as a culture were collectively over the Golden Globes? It appears that the show’s banishment from broadcast was just a temporary measure –… Read More Oh, Are We Supposed to Care About the Golden Globes Again? – 2023 Nominations
Made for a pittance by an untested young writer-director, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs caused a sensation at film festivals from Sundance to Cannes, was enormously hyped when it played in limited theatrical release, and would prove to be one of the most important titles of the 1990s indie boom. Of course, it would also launch… Read More Let’s Get Rambling | Reservoir Dogs (1992) 4K Ultra HD
Once a decade, to much fanfare and debate, British magazine Sight & Sound publishes its so-called “Greatest Films of All Time” poll. People take this seriously for some reason. The latest results were released last week, crowning a new champion and also, notably, kicking a bunch of established classics to the curb. Much virtual ink… Read More Brief, Probably Inconsequential Thoughts on the 2022 Sight & Sound Greatest Films Survey
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