Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” – a Most Ambitious Fantasy

The fourth entry in Plot and Theme’s year-long look at the filmography of Stanley Kubrick.  Check out all entries here. Introduction In 1962, Stanley Kubrick adapted the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita for his sixth feature film.  Though published only 7 years earlier, Nabokov’s novel was already reaching the status of a classic work due to … Read more

Hot Docs 2017 Over on Cinema Axis

This is going to be a short post to draw attention to the eight screeners from the 2017 Hot Docs Film Festival I was fortunate enough to review over on CinemaAxis.  Below, I’ll link to all of the reviews once they’re posted, but for now I’ll just introduce each film and give a quick synopsis.

“Paterson”: Jim Jarmusch’s Ode to Discovering Poetry in the Mundane

Paterson follows a week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey.  Paterson’s life traces a banal routine:  wake up at 6:15 (without an alarm), walk to work, drive a bus, come home to his live-in girlfriend, eat dinner, walk the dog, stop at a bar, have a drink, … Read more

Pablo Larraín’s “Jackie” Hinges on Natalie Portman’s Stellar Performance

No film in recent memory lionizes a performance quite like Pablo Larraín’s Jackie.  The entire film embraces Natalie Portman’s expert depiction of the iconic first lady.  Portman’s performance has a imitative style to it, complete with specific elocution, affect, and emotion – all of which she delivers with a quiet and confident ferocity.  Larraín takes … Read more

“Colossal”: Part Kaiju Flick, Part Exploration of Abuse and Recovery

Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo is no stranger to off-the-wall storytelling; Los cronocrímenes (Timecrimes) may be the best film featuring time-travel ever.  In Colossal, Vigalonda tries his hand at a kaiju movie, but infuses it with his own style.  Vigalondo exploits the genre for allegory and dark comedy, crafting an inventive exploration of indulgence, regret, and self-destruction … Read more

The Devastating Power of Information in “United 93”

Paul Greengrass’s United 93 is more than a harrowing dramatization of the events of September 11th, 2001.  It’s also a profound treatise on the significance of information, and how ignorance leads to irrationality, uncertainty, and fear.  This piece will look at three aspects of the film and how each is intimately tied to the availability … Read more