“Fran Rubel Kuzui’s newly restored 1988 debut is short on story and long on charm, genial in that hangout-movie manner that rewards repeat viewings. Tokyo Pop captures the city’s dreamy, discombobulating energy in ways that clearly made an impression on a young Sofia Coppola. It’s an awfully sweet picture, welcoming and easy to watch.” – North Shore Movies, 08/26/2023
“The Coolidge’s Hip-Hop At 50 celebration takes a dark detour with a week of gritty crime dramas. All four of these films pulsate with street-level views of American life unseen in suburban multiplexes until the music of the cities started a pop culture revolution. Hip-hop helped reinvent the cops and robbers genre for an era of gangbangers and crack cocaine.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 08/19/2023
“Is there a way to employ such imagery responsibly? Is it even possible in a piece of entertainment? These are some of the questions haunting Alain Resnais’ thrillingly complicated contemplation of historical trauma and shared memory in the guise of a fleeting romance. Hiroshima Mon Amour spans decades while remaining stubbornly in the present tense.” – Crooked Marquee, 08/18/2023
“‘The more you love movies the harder it is to make lists,’ says Tamm. ‘When people ask for my favorite film, lately I’ve been saying Singin’ In The Rain. Since lockdown, I must have watched it a dozen times. To see it in the same canon as Tokyo Story and 2001 is great. It’s a movie maybe some people wouldn’t think of as a foundational film, but it absolutely is.’” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 08/17/2023
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
SPLICED PERSONALITY 