Saint Maud is what can be lovingly referred to as an “uh oh” movie. Unlike silly slasher flicks peppered with jump scares and obligatory loud noises, writer/director Rose Glass’s film quietly and relentlessly churns towards the “uh oh” waiting at the end of the story. Fittingly described as a “slow-burn,” this tale of demented piety […]
Search results
Posted inMovies
A Rainbow Without Rain
Like a big, consensual hug from a nonbinary person dressed in a sheep costume, Queer Japan is the very best kind of documentary: the kind that leaves you feeling very intimately connected to its subjects. Writer Anne Ishii and writer/director Graham Kolbeins opt not to lecture or preach, not to anchor the film on a […]
Posted inCulture
Last call coming for what’s likely Nebraska’s last video store
This story originally appeared in Flatwater Free Press. The dying light of the afternoon penetrates the storefront glass and settles upon rows of DVDs arranged not by genre, but in rough alphabetical order. Thus, Michael Myers from “Halloween” lurks on a shelf near Tracy Turnblad of “Hairspray.” Past a hand-written “DROP OFF MOVIE HERE” sign, […]
Posted inMovies
Suicide Is Painless
The Suicide Squad is less like a direct descendent of writer/director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy and more like its debauched third cousin once removed (possibly under penalty of law). That’s a compliment, as whack-a-doodle relatives are a biological delight, provided they’re the “harmless lunatic” kind and not the “QAnon cult member” sort. Over […]
Posted inMovies
E-I-E-I-Woe
People can have a weirdly upsetting reaction to things that are excessively adorable or beautiful. It is a phenomenon known as “cuteness aggression.” If you are prone to this condition, maybe watch Minari by yourself? Set in 1983, writer/director Lee Isaac Chung’s film tells the simple story of a Korean family starting a farm in […]
