PAGING MR. HERMAN: PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE AT THE BRATTLE


“Traveling across a highly stylized, egalitarian America full of loveable weirdos and eccentrics, our hero befriends escaped convicts, toothless hobos, ghost truckers, biker dudes and a diner waitress who dreams of moving to Paris. In its openhearted embrace of misfits on the margins, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is basically a John Waters movie for kids.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 08/14/2023

Comments Off on PAGING MR. HERMAN: PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE AT THE BRATTLE Posted in Features

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER


Alien meets Master And Commander is a hell of a hook for a horror film, which leaves one wondering how they managed to screw it up so badly. The Last Voyage Of The Demeter sucks all the fun out what should have been a tight little fright flick about Dracula snacking on sailors and leaves us with a dour, turgidly paced two hours of maritime monotony.” – North Shore Movies, 08/11/2023

Comments Off on THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER Posted in Reviews

PASSAGES


“The point is not to play peek-a-boo with people’s private parts but rather to show how these characters communicate during their most intimate moments and the shifts in power dynamics that take place therein. Some people like to complain that sex scenes in movies don’t advance the story, but in the case of Passages, the sex scenes are the story.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 08/10/2023

Comments Off on PASSAGES Posted in Reviews

AFIRE

“Christian Petzold’s dryly funny comedy of (bad) manners changes tones abruptly, like those suddenly shifting winds. This sneakily profound picture throws into stark perspective just how fleeting are the opportunities for simple pleasures that our work won’t allow. Take a swim. Talk to the pretty girl selling ice cream. Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.” – North Shore Movies, 08/04/2023

Comments Off on AFIRE Posted in Reviews

DREAMIN’ WILD


“There’s not a lot of overt drama in the picture, which is better acted than directed and better directed than written. These are hearty, Northwestern folk who tend to internalize their emotions. But Goggins’ wide, friendly smile can’t hide the sadness behind his eyes, and things weigh heavily very well on Casey Affleck. No actor these days aches quite so eloquently.” – North Shore Movies, 08/04/2023

Comments Off on DREAMIN’ WILD Posted in Reviews

MOB LAND


“Glum and lumbering. There’s no energy to the picture. It’s abysmally directed, relying on clumsy handheld camerawork that’s presumably intended to goose along the action but mostly just obscures it. Cinematographer Nick Matthews seems especially averse to lighting people’s faces. When Travolta and Dorff finally square off in a barn, we can barely see them.” – North Shore Movies, 08/04/2023

Comments Off on MOB LAND Posted in Reviews

ERASERHEAD: DAVID LYNCH’S WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING


“It’s a potential parent’s worst-case nightmare of an ugly, unlovable time-suck taking over your life and the sleep-deprived psychosis of a purgatorial existence with a sick, disgusting child that Will. Not. Stop. Crying. Basically, if you’ve ever had a panic attack worrying that you might have knocked up your girlfriend, this is the movie playing in your head.” – Crooked Marquee, 08/04/2023

Comments Off on ERASERHEAD: DAVID LYNCH’S WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING Posted in Features

SHORTCOMINGS

“Is representation alone enough to merit recommendation? In the summer of 2018, while trying to stay out of the Crazy Rich Asians debate that animates the first and best part of Park’s film, I meekly noted that in a perfect world, people of all races and backgrounds would have their own mediocre romantic comedies. Shortcomings suggests we’re well on our way.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 08/03/2023

Comments Off on SHORTCOMINGS Posted in Reviews

TALK TO ME


“It makes perfect sense that the gateway to perdition would end up being opened by a bunch of little assholes on TikTok. This nifty, nasty Australian thriller posits demonic possession as the latest stupidly dangerous social media challenge to go viral. It’s an auspicious debut. There’s a bracing meanness to the movie that keeps you guessing where it’s gonna go.” – North Shore Movies, 07/30/2023

Comments Off on TALK TO ME Posted in Reviews

EAST END AND DOWN: IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY


“A manhunt movie suffused with melancholy longing for past glories in the face of a morose, mundane present. Disguised as a film noir, it’s actually a precursor to the early 1960s British kitchen sink dramas, one crime plot away from This Sporting Life or Saturday Night And Sunday Morning. I’m guessing this was an important film for a young Mike Leigh.” – Crooked Marquee, 07/28/2023

Comments Off on EAST END AND DOWN: IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY Posted in Features