Learn more

Category: Reviews

  • Persistence of Time: A Review of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk

    Persistence of Time: A Review of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk

    •

    marielcalloway

    Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk begins an existential nightmare and ends as nihilistic commentary on time and fate. But really, what war film doesn’t? And what could Nolan’s Dunkirk stand to teach us that Patton didn’t? That Saving Private Ryan didn’t? Or The Longest Day? The Thin Red Line? Atonement?

  • Hipsters & Daggers: “Hamlet” London Theatre Review

    •

    marielcalloway

    “I thought it was dystopian!” “I thought it was modern?” “I thought it was the past…” The Millennials are confused, and understandably so. The Barbican Centre’s production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Lyndsey Turner and filmed before a live audience, presents a unique and refreshing perspective on the 400-year-old…

  • What We Talk About When We Talk About Theatre: “Birdman” Review

    •

    marielcalloway

    But how can we talk about Birdman? It, like Raymond Carver’s elusive love, cannot be talked about but only around. It can only be seen in contrast to what is not seen, its presence detected by way of what it moves, and creates, like wind in the trees or antibodies in…

  • Answered Prayers: “Foxcatcher” Review

    •

    marielcalloway

    In the closing moments of Bennett Miller’s 2005 film Capote, director Bennett Miller tells us that “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.” Foxcatcher tells a similar tale. It is cold in the same way that Miller’s Capote is cold, a pensive progression of events that will soon go awry…

  • (Don’t!) Let the Beat Drop: “Whiplash” Review

    •

    marielcalloway

    Like the title suggests, Whiplash is a jarring and explosive event, striking with a force and power that stuns and reverberates for moments to come. Director Damien Chazelle doesn’t direct a film so much as he conducts an orchestra, leading with a barrage of percussion and brass then, deftly, employs…

  • Steady Hands. No Fast Pans. Don’t Use the Zoom. “Nightcrawler” Review

    •

    marielcalloway

    Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler wants to be noir in the same way that Lou Bloom wants to be a cinematic auteur, clinging with tight desperation to an idea that can never fully come to fruition. Instead it lurks in shadows and creates a quiet, pensive beauty grown from a horror that…

  • Gone Girl: Media Gaze and the Feminine Spectacle

    •

    marielcalloway

    [Spoilers Within] In David Fincher’s Gone Girl, the media is a character in and of itself. It acts with considerable agency, guiding our thoughts and perceptions, casting autonomous judgement with an unquestioned air of authority. From an early point, the film wisely encourages us to ask “Whose story is this?”…

  • The Game is On(line): BBC’s “Sherlock” in the Age of Social Media

    •

    marielcalloway

    Because they’re able to get away with it, British television seasons are usually much shorter than American ones, often resembling a typical cable air schedule. Seasons may contain anywhere from 6 to 12 episodes, with start dates unpredictable. Sherlock tortures its fans with three 90-minute episodes and an undetermined hiatus…

  • Repeating History: Why “Argo” Won Best Picture

    •

    marielcalloway

    When I was little, I used to watch the same movies over and over again. At one point during my eleventh consecutive viewing of The Lion King, I asked myself why. What was the point of watching a story when I already knew the ending? At first I thought that…

  • Identity Crisis

    •

    marielcalloway

    So yes, like most everyone else last week I did see the amazing premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and no, this will not be a post on that movie just yet. Expect one eventually, but not now. I prefer to hold off posting on new films until I can…