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Asif Kapadia’s “Amy” is a Haunting Critique of Celebrity Worship
I have been excited to see Asif Kapadia’s Amy Winehouse documentary since I first heard Alicia Malone’s description of it at the Cannes film festival (here). I finally got to see it last week, and I left the theater with a profound feeling of disgust . . . at myself and my culture.
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The Ages of Disney Animation – Part IV: The Age of Inconsistency
Previous Parts
Nothing lasts forever, and in Part IV of The Seven Ages of Disney Animation we look at the inevitable fall from grace following Disney’s Golden Age. After the death of Walt Disney, the studio struggled to re-create the magic of the previous ages, and failed to produce a film rivaling the quality of any of their previous masterpieces. Due to the shaky quality and wandering narratives, I call this age, “The Age of Inconsistency”.
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The Ages of Disney Animation – Part III: The Golden Age
Previous Parts
Next up in The Seven Ages of Disney Animation is a proper return-to-form for the animation studio. Where the previous age saw mashed-together package films rule in an effort to curb costs, the introduction of this age is marked by a true masterpiece reminiscent of The Age of Innovation. I speak, of course, of Cinderella, and the birthing of The Golden Age.
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Classic Review Friday – Todd Field’s “In the Bedroom” (2001)
Todd Field’s In the Bedroom is a masterful exploration of how individuals cope with tragedy, both in their own mind and in the context of an established romantic relationship. The film is set in a quiet Maine community and glamorizes nothing, instead being comfortable with creating a realistic but vivid world, harsh edges and all. It tells the story of an old couple whose college-age son falls for a divorced mother of two, and must deal with her aggressive ex-husband. The film is structured with abrupt act breaks which serve to keep the tones of each portion distinct, and the result is a complex treatise on an emotion-riddled subject. It offers us answers, yet makes no claim that they are the correct ones.
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The Ages of Disney Animation – Part II: The Age of Package Films
Previous Parts
Part I: The Age of Innovation
For Part II of The Ages of Disney Animation, we enter a very peculiar time. As World War II raged, Walt Disney found that producing full-length films with meager staff and capital was nearly impossible. Instead, he chose to produce six “package films” to keep the studio afloat during this tumultuous time in history.
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The Ages of Disney Animation – Part I: The Age of Innovation
Feature-length Disney animated films are a hallmark of cinematic culture, and it is strange to think that they date back to before the beginning of the second world war. As we approach 80 years of animated features from Disney, I find myself looking back at that history and noting the various high-points and missteps in an all-encompassing retrospective of Disney Animation.
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Review of “Deadpool” Trailer Trailer and “Deadpool” Trailer Review
The Merc with a Mouth had something to say to us on Monday about the trailer for his new movie. Like the hipster asshole that he is, Deadpool narrates the trailer to his trailer with some bourbon and a pipe in full costume (which makes holding the pipe in his mouth fairly difficult). His voice pierces the darkness that only relents upon his activation of The Clapper to turn on his lamp, and Deadpool has some great news for us:
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“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” Ascends to Brilliant Heights
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation revels in its tropes. Heists, MacGuffins, and double/triple crosses abound and elevate the film to the very apex of the spy film genre. Director Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher, writer of Edge of Tomorrow) ably adds his touches and always keeps the action intelligible, but this is unequivocally Tom Cruise’s movie. Cruise’s portrayal of Ethan Hunt has carried the Mission: Impossible franchise since its inception, but in the past his task has sometimes bordered on Sisyphean thanks to poor plotting, writing, and directing. Rogue Nation is a much easier boulder to push, and never tumbles from its well-earned heights.
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“Ant-Man” Offers More Wit, Subtlety, and Heart than Standard Marvel Fares
Every new entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has multiple obstacles to overcome. First, and most importantly, the film must fit into the rest of the MCU in a way that feels genuine and earned. Also, it must be careful not to retread old ideas and instead offer us something fresh. The latest offering, Ant-Man, ably navigates these potential pitfalls and presents a deftly told story full of humor and emotion that rivals some of the best moments in all of the MCU. All told, this is probably the funniest Marvel movie to date, with its most direct competition being last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Further, the theme of living up to the expectations of one’s family is probably the most human and relatable that we’ve seen. That being said, Ant-Man is not afraid to kick some serious ass and present some truly ground-breaking special effects-fueled action sequences in service of its greater story. That these scenes and effects are in service of telling a nuanced heist story instead of a grandiose world-saving kind of story is just one of the many strengths of Ant-Man, but the film is far from flawless.
Film Criticism and Fiction Writing by Derek Jacobs
