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New York Film Festival 2021 Review: ‘Hester Street’
It’s only fitting that New York City‘s biggest film festival has chosen to premiere Cohen Film Collection’s new 4K restoration of Joan Micklin Silver’s Hester Street — a film so obviously tied to the city’s legacy with immigration that its namesake can be found 35 minutes away from the festival’s very own Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. With naturalistic black-and-white cinematography highlighting the city’s daily life, a heartbreakingly marvelous Carol Kane at the forefront of its raw narrative, and born from the vision of a dedicated director who blazed her own path through a flagrantly sexist Hollywood, Hester Street‘s deeply honest tale of immigration and tradition in the towering face of American modernity remains ever-so-resonant in our equally-as-complex modern era, where U.S. immigration remains as much of a labyrinthian cultural issue now as it was over a full century ago.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Humans
‘Warrior’: Good Versus…Good?
Warrior is a dramatic look at the world of MMA, as seen through the eyes of two brothers with a complicated relationship. While this is a sports movie primarily about fighting, much of Warrior is dedicated to evaluating the relationship between these two brothers, their lives, and what fighting means to them.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Humans
‘Best Sellers’: Finding Literary Truth in the Modern World
Can the literary art form still survive in this hyperactive, Twitter-operating, modern age? Bookworms venturing through desolated libraries and soon-to-be bankrupt bookstores may find themselves out of time, yearning for a time where a 400-page book held more value than a 28-word tweet. They would imagine themselves as beat poets, or another anarchic voice raging against the establishment, giving their own vision of the continued disillusionment of the American dream.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Humans
‘Cry Macho’: Age Is Not a Deterrent
The production background of Cry Macho spans nearly five decades. The screenplay had been kicking around in the early seventies. After numerous studio rejections, screenwriter N. Richard Nash revamped the script into novel form. The positive acclaim for the novel led to its eventual optioning for the screen by Twentieth Century Fox.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Humans
‘The Gateway’: Shea Whigham and Bruce Dern Make This Lowly Neo-Noir Thriller Worth Your Time
I’ll be honest, I only watched this film to see the underutilized Shea Whigham in a lead role. I’ve been a big fan of him ever since his supporting turn in the glorious HBO crime saga Boardwalk Empire. But on the cinematic screen, Whigham usually shows up in a bit part — though in some cases, like in Jon Watt’s Cop Car, Whigham still manages to be memorable.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Criminal
A Bump on the Head Goes a Long Way in James Wan’s ‘Malignant’
Horror cinema has frequently been misunderstood and dismissed by haughty cineastes. From the multitude of slasher clones and their countless cheaply made sequels, the genre has always been an easy mark for pretentious snobbery.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Horror
‘Karen’ Is a Cinematic Assault on the Intellect
The slang term ‘Karen’ represents the racist, entitled white women of suburbia. A creature from the lagoon of (usually) far-right misinformation. Stereotypically, you can see a ‘Karen’ donning a bob cut with blonde highlights. As per usual, a ‘Karen’ doesn’t consider herself a racist despite outing herself as one in any debate concerning the subject of race. Notably, she’s instantly suspicious of Black people and doesn’t hesitate to call the authorities on them for even the most innocuous of offenses.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Horror
Andy Serkis’ Caesar: Ten Years of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’
This month marked ten years since one of the last decades’ most beloved characters first swung onto the big screen. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes we saw the birth of Andy Serkis’ Caesar, a chimp who was taken from a laboratory to avoid being put down after his mother, in an act of defense, went on a rampage throughout the facility. This film presented itself in a very unique way for those who are familiar with the Planet of the Apes franchise. It was modern, set in contemporary times, and in a stark difference to the films that preceded it, did not utilize makeup and prosthetics for the look of the Apes. This film is notorious for being one that surprised audiences back in the summer of 2011. After the poor reception of Tim Burton’s 2001 Planet of the Apes, this film and the franchise overall did not have a high amount of energy and excitement going for it. The best way to describe the production and release of this film is acknowledging that it faced a clear uphill battle towards greatness and audience acceptance.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Geeks
Every Conjuring Universe Movie Ranked From Worst to Best
The Conjuring Universe’s success continues to confound me. Generally, its films range from unwatchable to well-crafted, but obvious homages to better horror films from past decades. And yet, they continue to kill at the box office.
By MovieBabble5 years ago in Horror
‘Cruella’ Is a Very Odd, Yet Highly Watchable Disney Departure
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who asked for a 134-minute origin story of a character who originated in a 79-minute cartoon, but alas, Cruella is here. Since the film premiered, much of the conversation has seemed to stem from a similar thought. Questions like, “why do we need this?” or, “who is this for?” have dominated the discourse. Frankly, I find that angle mostly unhelpful and counterproductive. Of course, a bloated prequel to a Disney villain may not be the most ideal way to spend one’s time, but such questions are often more revealing about the person asking them than the film itself. It’s a line of thinking that seems to suggest the person asking it has a very narrow view of what entertainment can be, and they don’t have the presence of mind to think that other people just might have a different perspective that makes something like Cruella worth watching.
By MovieBabble5 years ago in Geeks
‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Paddington 2’ and the Oversimplification of Film Criticism
This weekend, a 2017 review of the film Paddington 2 was added to Rotten Tomatoes, dropping its perfect score from 100% Fresh to a weak 99%. This follows the recent addition of a review from 1941 to Citizen Kane‘s score, dropping it from the 100% club. Because they both claimed a 100% score with over 100 reviews under their belt, there was a multitude of internet discourse over the title of “Greatest Movie of All Time”. I’m here, not to discuss the 245 Certified Fresh Reviews for Paddington 2 or its potential status as the GOAT. I’m here to discuss the one negative review and the ill-trend in film criticism that it represents.
By MovieBabble5 years ago in Geeks
‘Army of the Dead’: A (Mostly) Earned Victory Shamble for Zack Snyder
It’s safe to say that no American filmmaker working today is quite as polarizing as Zack Snyder. Detractors renounce the Watchmen, 300, Man of Steel et al. director as the hack creator of one dour, bloated action epic after another. His fans either adore him unreservedly or appreciate his films as the work of a cynical vulgar auteur with an unflappable so-uncool-it’s-actually-cool aesthetic. Some claim he’s perversely patriotic; others argue he unearths the twisted, destructive core of American patriotism.
By MovieBabble5 years ago in Horror
