Film
Review: The Dicks From Texas
The Dicks From Texas pays tribute in the best way possible to a band like these guys—it’s raw, unpolished, and choppy in some places, the lighting and audio isn’t perfect, the live footage is all bootlegged, and you definitely get the feeling that it went through a single editing process in someone’s basement. But, you know what? That’s punk rock! And that was the Dicks! … read more
Review: Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2
Before I moved to the Beehive State in the fall of 2000, one of my only references to this fascinating city was an independent movie titled SLC Punk. I watched it more times than I can remember and enjoyed every viewing for its exciting acting, energetic soundtrack and local resonance. It’s been 18 years since its release with multiple rumors that a sequel was on the horizon. As much as I enjoyed the first installment, I questioned whether or not it required or deserved another engagement. … read more
Review: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
There was a time, not so long ago, when this movie buff would get excited for a new Michael Bay movie. Sure, I was 13 years old, but there was nothing better than explosions, car chases and fire fights on the big screen. For the next 10 years, things were mostly decent (sorry, Pearl Harbor), but then Bay got his hands on the Transformers franchise, and everything went to hell. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Yoga Hosers
My introduction to Kevin Smith began early in my life. My older brother rented Clerks and threw it into our VCR (yep. That long ago) without really considering the fact that his eighth-grade kid brother was in the same room. The Mallrats soundtrack was the first CD that I ever bought with my own money, and Weezer’s “Suzanne” still manages to fill me with high school nostalgia. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Captain Fantastic
Regardless of a filmmaker’s talent, making a meaningful drama about a quirky family is like navigating a minefield. Celluloid families are typically plagued with some degree of syrupy sweetness or sappy tragedy, but Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic captures the emotional core of what makes all families tick and his stellar cast promptly follows suit. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Certain Women
Typically, shooting a film against the big sky country of Montana evokes images of tough guys doing tough things. While the tough things are still present, Kelly Reichardt’s introspective film focuses on the women who ultimately pick up the pieces after the tough guys break themselves apart. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Under the Shadow
When Gullermo Del Toro used Pan’s Labyrinth as an allegorical scalpel to dissect the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, he opened a door to possibilities that few filmmakers have had the talent and imagination to explore. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Land of the Enlightened
Shot on 16-mm. film, The Land of the Enlightened vibrantly fuses documentary filmmaking with fictive storytelling dynamics. The film illuminates the lifestyles of a handful Afghans amid continued U.S. occupation, and also examines the feelings and tensions of sustained U.S. presence in the country. What’s more, this film treats its viewers to the stunning natural beauty of Afghanistan. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Carnage Park
Writer/director Mickey Keating has tried his hand at many different horror subgenres, including sci-fi body horror with Pod and slow descents into madness with Darling. Carnage Park demonstrates his knack for imagining uniquely terrifying scenarios and then inflicting them upon his characters. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Lobster
In a dystopian future, David must find a partner in 45 days, or else he will be transformed into an animal of his choice. Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster bears witness to the process by which David seeks a mate against this impending consequence. Mind-warping twists abound in this film—The Lobster does not disappoint. … read more