Month: January 2016
Sundance Film Review: 31
There was something oddly comforting about my experience with Rob Zombie’s psychobilly horror film. After so many of my film choices this year took me into territory that I wasn’t necessarily prepared for, 31 was exactly what I was hoping it would be—a heavily stylized jaunt into Rob Zombie’s carnival of carnage. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Eyes of My Mother
My mouth was agape for much of The Eyes of My Mother. Borrowing from horror yet far from it, this film by director Nicolas Pesce disturbs the emotions that accompany our love for our family—our mothers, our fathers and our children—with violence and morbidity. … read more
Review: The Besnard Lakes – A Coliseum Complex Museum
It’s no secret that The Besnard Lakes have an affinity for the supernatural and even look to it for inspiration. Yet, what sets A Coliseum Complex Museum apart from the band’s previous work is its openness in addressing the group’s relationship and overarching obsession with nature and the occult. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Trash Fire
The horror/comedy is a tricky genre to blend. While it seems like the two fit hand in hand, very few directors have been able to actually make it work. The problem with Trash Fire is that director and screenwriter Richard Bates, Jr. tried to make a horror/comedy that was also a family drama, a treatise on mental illness and a critique of religious conservatism. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Wild
Dog may be man’s best friend, but Ania’s lover is a wolf. Director Nicolette Krebitz’s Wild shows Ania (Lilith Stangenberg) in a state of apathy toward her surroundings. She puts up with patriarchal men at her office job and must suffer through her sister’s boyfriend who rudely interrupts their video chats. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: All the Colors of the Night
In this female-driven mystery, Iris attempts to piece together her memories from the night before to explain how a man wound up dead in her oceanfront apartment. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Greasy Strangler
Amid tableaus that fixate on cartoonish gore, ungainly sex, feral pubic hair and lurid sausage consumption, The Greasy Strangler does tell a story—I think. … read more
Sundance Film Review: NUTS!
NUTS! tells the story of Dr. Brinkley and his bizarrely successful attempt to build an empire on a foundation of trans-species testicular transplants. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Mapplethorpe: Look At the Pictures
Whether you’re an avid follower of Robert Mapplethorpe’s career or just now hearing about him, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures offers a comprehensive look at his controversial oeuvre. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Sky Ladder – The Art of Cai...
Sky Ladder pulled me in with its gorgeous cinematography that beautifully captures the color that Cai uses in his artwork. … read more