POSTED // May 23,2013 - When The Hangover Part II was released two years ago and turned out to be virtually a note-for-note duplication of the original, many of us found ourselves thinking, “Couldn’t they do something new?”

POSTED // May 10,2013 - What if Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby didn’t have to carry the burden of “The Great Gatsby”? That’s not just some Zen koan-like riddle intended to inspire deep meditation; it’s a question about the way we look at a movie

POSTED // May 7,2013 - Martin McDonagh has a particular flavor as a writer, even if his work sometimes feels clearly beholden to both David Mamet and Quentin Tarantino.

POSTED // May 3,2013 - Somewhere, somewhen, our culture became openly antagonistic to poetry. And that’s making it too easy to dismiss Terrence Malick for the wrong reasons.

POSTED // Apr 29,2013 - Over the past decade, no single writer has more diligently explored the myriad consequences of what we humans eat than Michael Pollan—which makes it fairly extraordinary that he continues to find new ways to make us see food in new ways.

POSTED // Apr 26,2013 - Robert Redford hasn’t exactly been shy about his passionate, progressive political commitment over the years. So why does it seems so hard for him to make movies about passionately committed people

POSTED // Apr 19,2013 - For all those who found themselves perplexed beyond measure by Shane Carruth’s 2004 debut feature, the infinitely mind-bendy time-travel yarn Primer: It’s not nearly as complicated keeping

POSTED // Apr 12,2013 - At a pivotal moment in the new Jackie Robinson biopic 42, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) tries to console Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), who’s furious over the abuse and humiliation he’s required to

POSTED // Apr 12,2013 - With the constant drone of the 2012 campaign season still ringing in our ears, it’s hard to imagine building a heroic narrative out of political advertising.

POSTED // Apr 5,2013 - In June 1993, I stood in line at a Northern California multiplex with my then-roommates, awaiting our showtime for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. One of them in particular had been giddy for weeks leading up