Screen
He turned the engine, but the engine didn’t turn
Lanky, hulking and almost always stooped, Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) is 24 years old, jobless, directionless, and living in the same Staten Island home...
The birth of the last lion
May 1940: Hitler is riding roughshod across Europe, gobbling up territory like an insatiable monster. Norway, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Denmark have all fallen. Belgium,...
Part of me, part of you
The women are on the run. One is a sheltered housewife married to a pig of a man. The other is a waitress hiding...
‘Somebody’s fool’
Orson Welles needed money. That’s how this story begins. Back in 1946, Welles was putting the finishing touches on an ambitious stage production of...
Soulless cinema
To Disney, from the desk of Mufasa: “Remember who you are.”
The Lion King, Disney’s latest computer-generated remake, isn’t like the rest. Yes, the story...
A slight case of accidental murder
The rocky, seaside village of Easter Cove, Maine, does not look like the kind of place you’d want to spend a winter. The snow...
Illuminating content
Dear incoming film students, take a moment to learn from those who came before you, and please heed Derek Cianfrance’s advice: “Be where you...
In lieu of a theatrical experience: Summer edition
This was the weekend we were waiting for: A return to movie theaters in the time of coronavirus. Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster, Tenet, was...
Here’s to the ones who dream
The city of Los Angeles is home to a million stories, all of them different, many of them sad. They don’t always start out...
Unexpected capitalism on the Oregon Trail
His name is Figowitz, but everyone calls him “Cookie.” It fits him well. Not only is he the cook for this outfit of beaver...
Best of the fest
It’s the most common question you get as a film critic: “What’s good?” Variants include: “What do you like?” “What excites you?” “What should...
Such great heights
Great movies don’t require a signature shot, but it helps when they have one. What would Vertigo be without that dizzying dolly zoom? The...
