Tilda Swinton

“Okja” Hurls Unwieldy Satire at Anyone in its Sights

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Like the past works of writer-director Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host), Okja isn’t so much an allegory as it is an outright morality tale. The Korean filmmaker seem intent on tackling each and every woe of modern society, from the danger of radioactive waste (and by extension, the short-sighted profit-seeking of big business) in … Read more

“War Machine” is Imbalanced, Has Too Few Barbs

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The satire is the most fragile of all the genres.  Drama fails or succeeds on the strength of very definite qualities like story, character, and pathos.  Comedy has leeway with its execution on account of its casual tone, as even the blackest comedies have a jokey kernel.  Strict genre fare or action is even more … Read more

Yay for Giant Hippo-Pig Trailers: Bong Joon-Ho’s “Okja”

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Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho is not subtle when it comes to the themes of his films, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Snowpiercer isn’t so much an allegory for class warfare – it is class warfare, just set on the science fiction environment of an ever-moving train.  The Host is the venerable monster-movie warning … Read more

Despite “Out There” Visuals, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” Is as Safe as They Come

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For a film meant to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) into the novel territory of alternate dimensions and mind-bending magic, Doctor Strange sure does play it safe.  Though many of the visuals are fascinating, some are overly show-offy, like an elaborate ornament on an otherwise bland facade.  The acting talent and the performances that they deliver are impressive, but they are relied upon to prop up a flimsy story that inadequately introduces us to this new facet of the MCU.  Similarly, most of the characters are unbalanced, uneven, and inconsistent – as though the filmmakers were afraid of allowing Dr. Strange to be too much of an asshole.  Finally, aside from an innovative and interesting climactic sequence, the plot is about as by-the-numbers as one can imagine.  Overall, this is the disquieting flaw of Doctor Strange:  the eye-popping visuals are in direct aesthetic conflict with the safeness of the narrative and thematic choices.  The result is a reasonable entry into the MCU, but a film which isn’t appreciably better than the average origin story.

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“Hail, Caesar!”: The Zany Slices of an Incomplete Pie

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Joel and Ethan Coen have crafted a peculiar ode to old Hollywood in Hail, Caesar! The principal protagonist in the film is Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a producer and “fixer” tasked with making sure that everything runs smoothly at Capitol Pictures. He hops from fire to fire, and along the way gives us a haphazard overview of the Hollywood studio system by visiting the sets of different pictures. While different threads of his life entwine together into a coherent story by the end of the film, particular elements fail or succeed largely on the merits of the superb supporting cast of characters. Regardless, moments of hilarity exist in this mish-mash of tone and style, and the worst sin Hail, Caesar! can be accused of is failing to synthesize its zany parts into a cohesive whole.

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