S omewhere, embedded within the raucous, irresistible comedy of the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy, lies a parable about the bond of brotherhood. Through the daredevil shenanigans and harebrained schemes, a real love was palpable. Laurel and Hardy may not have been related by blood, but they completed each other like…
T he Kid Who Would Be King reminds me of those quirky daydreams I had as a nerdy 7th grader: A voice would come over the intercom and page chubby, adorable little Toddy into the hallway. Instead of a principal or a parent, I would imagine someone giving me a Goonies-style map to buried treasure, or a message…
By 1183, King Henry II had expanded England's territory deep into France. This included the Château de Chinon, a castle roughly 200 miles southwest of Paris. Situated in the Touraine region, Chinon became a favorite spot for Henry to conduct his royal affairs, in every sense of that term. The Lion in Winter depicts a fictionalized Christmas for…
Even though the film still features a few cinematic flourishes, The Lion in Winter largely crackles with the heat and energy of a ferocious theatrical performance.
"Politics is the strong and slow boring of hard boards," Max Weber once observed, although the same could be said for any challenge to the cultural or legal status quo. Change often comes at the speed of continental drift and requires a paradoxical balance of fiery passion and boundless resolve to see it through. On…
This week’s mini-sode provides a little analysis and backstory for a couple of upcoming trailers: Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. As someone who didn’t know a whole
After 20-plus years of filmmaking, the M. Night Shyamalan template for storytelling has become quite clear: He spends around 100 minutes carefully setting a table with plates, glasses, candles, and then strips off the tablecloth in the last 60 seconds. These cinematic shenanigans have produced a filmography with decidedly mixed results. I staggered out of…
For this episode, Travis and I discuss our favorite movies of the year, which coincides with my article on the same subject.
For the first time since high school, I've made an effort to see just about every movie out there. I didn't quite bat 1.000, but I'm comfortable with a belated review of Holmes and Watson if you are. If that movie somehow turns out to be East of Eden, well, then we'll squeeze it on here.…
"I hope that nobody has ever had to look at anybody they love through glass." These words open If Beale Street Could Talk, with every syllable coated in aching, anguished sadness. Since the dawn of theater, a thousand tragedies have struck a thousand characters with the burden of inevitability, whether that be in the form of…