Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a film of profound emotional impact. It takes subject matter familiar to the movies—the psychosexual killer—makes it wholly its own, and it does this on the tail end of the biggest wave of cinematic Psychomania in history. Formally it is masterful in its deployment of mise-en-scene, cinematography, and [...]
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This year marks the 15th anniversary of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s cult artifact, From Dusk Till Dawn. Like everything Q.T. has put his hands on, it’s reception has been polarized, and predictably even those that have praised it couch their attaboys in meaningless platitudes about “fun” and “exploitation.”
“…made to order for [...]
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Season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the show’s peak in terms of both theme and narrative. Other seasons—2, 5, and even 6—all reached greater emotional heights, and seasons 4 and 7 were visual stunners that strove for cinematic aesthetics and actually got them. Season 3, however—with the introductions of Faith and [...]
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And now for something completely different
Jess + Moss was definitely the quirkiest selection I saw at the Little Rock Film Festival this year, but unlike a lot of other contemporary films with quirk, it had heart to back it up. It was as moving as Happy New Year, but for no damn good [...]
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The kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the Earth, and men do not see it.—The Gospel of Thomas
Like video games, experimental video art poses a unique critical challenge. In what way do you approach such dense, ambiguous, and sealed-off works—art that is almost airtight? However, when the emotional [...]
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