NEWS OF THE WORLD is a somber and sober tale of post-Civil War Texas with few surprises as it wends its way through the mythos of the Old West, unfolding as it does as a metaphor. Or is it an allegory? Perhaps a microcosm of the world’s ills, both then and now? All those elements… Read More »
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
THE HATEFUL EIGHT is an impudent, pugnacious comedy that uses the synthetic nature of its stylized homage idiom to be a whip-smart consideration of race, gender, politics, situational ethics, and very, very bad teeth. The genre is the western, but the tone is thoroughly modern as a group of the damned journey through the desolate… Read More »
Cary Fukunaga and Abraham Attah Take On BEASTS OF NO NATION
I loved the rapport between writer/director Cary Fukunaga and his discovery, Abraham Attah. If there was ever a more impressive feature film debut than Attah’s in BEASTS OF NO NATION, I can’t remember it. This searing, heartbreaking adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala’s novel of the same name casts Attah as Agu, a normal, happy kid in… Read More »
David Burris — THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT
When I spoke with David Burris on December 18, 2014, one of the things I most wanted to talk to him about was getting the accents right in THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT. It’s set in North Carolina, and he used actors from such far-flung places as Australia, England, and Los Angeles. We went on to… Read More »