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 »
DAMSEL
This fiercely iconoclastic western uses many tropes from that cinematic genre, from the classics of John Ford to the more recent idioms of Sergio Leone, but the references are merely window dressing. Part comedy, part tragedy, part feminist manifesto, and all engrossing, it subverts expectations at every turn while delivering a film that refuses to be pigeonholed.
HONEYGLUE with James Bird, Anya Remizova, and Adriana Mather
When I spoke with James Bird, Adriana Mather, and Anya Remizova on May 25, 2016, the first thing I wanted to know about was the clichés that they wanted to avoid in this story of young lovers facing their own mortality. It was only natural that we would discuss the spiritual influences that inspired Bird,… Read More »
THE DARKNESS
THE DARKNESS, released without a press screening, and on Friday the Thirteenth, is everything you’d expect. It’s a tame and insultingly derivative version of POLTERGEIST, right down to the sulky teenage daughter and the darling little kid who sees spirits. That the little kid is a boy, not a blond cherub of a girl, and… Read More »
BROTHER BEAR
You can’t fault Disneys latest animated film, BROTHER BEAR, for the message it wants to send to all the kiddies out there. That would be a philosophy of respect for all nature’s creatures and of taking responsibility for your own actions are both worthy lessons. Alas, the execution is 90% generic and 100% unfunny. The story… Read More »
Alex Mar and the AMERICAN MYSTIC
As we head into the holiday season, Halloween just passed, and the quasi-religious rituals surrounding our national holidays of Thanksgiving and the orgy of spending that has become Christmas on the horizon, KMR takes a look back to a conversation with Alex Mar for her 2010 documentary AMERICAN MYSTIC. Mar’s film looks at the draw… Read More »