The Silence of the Lambs Directed by Jonathan Demme USA, 1991 (The following contains a great deal of spoilers) Rewatching The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins is as mesmerizing as ever in his masterful portrayal of psychiatrist and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The intellectual serial killer who is emblazoned as one of the most …
Sure, children are our future. But what if they turn out to be our demise? Whether kids are compelled to murder through the extremity of a situation or because they are seemingly rotten to the core, the idea that precious innocence can be twisted into something hideously unrecognizable continues to be a terrifying trope of …
Orange is the New Black’s title is probably the least compelling thing about the accomplished series. It springs to mind a kind of petulant rebelliousness, a hip “girl power” type of show that, however easily it could fall into being with its premise, consistently rises above being with its powerful, careful storytelling, laugh-out-loud humor, and three-dimensional characters. Still, the title is by no means empty, and actually rings out as strangely meaningful in this, its second season premiere. After all, what does happen when orange is the new black? Or, in other words, what happens when what we think is basic is absolutely no longer the case?
Walt Disney passed away December 15, 1966, and in the decade that followed, the Walt Disney Company struggled to define itself. Should the company stay beholden to Walt and his vision, asking themselves what Walt would do, or should they take the opportunity to try something new? The decades that followed Walt’s death were a …
Elysium Directed by Neill Blomkamp Written by Neill Blomkamp USA, Canada, and Mexico, 2013 District 9 offered the promise of a fresh new talent in writer-director Neill Blomkamp. Elysium doesn’t totally squander that promise, but at least raises the disturbing possibility that District 9 may have been a fluke. More likely, Blomkamp will be best …
“All you need for a movie is a girl and a gun.” Jean-Luc Godard – Just how did packing a gun and dishing out feminist tirades become marketable? Reading academic books on the subject leaves more questions than answers. Dubbing the genre “Chick with a Gun” might seem condescending, except many of these films themselves have …
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza 2011, France/Germany/Spain Roman Polanski has made his first comedy since 1972’s What?, and it’s very funny. Comedy is the easiest and the hardest genre to review. The biggest question is how many laughs does the film contain, but you have to pinpoint why …
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polanski (screenplay), Yasmina Reza (play) 2011, France Carnage is a lean story about a group of people who cannot leave an apartment. Sometimes they manage to go into an alternate room, even as far as getting into an elevator, but somehow each person is pulled together again. …
Carnage Directed by Roman Polanski Written by Roman Polanski (screenplay), Yasmina Reza (play) 2011, USA Today proved to be the most populous screening at the Lincoln Center yet, and I should have known better. As the Q&A for Miss Bala came to an end, a rush of press got up and headed for the exit. …
Last month a Deadline exlusive claimed that Jodie Foster (The Brave One) had committed to writer/director Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi thriller Elysium, his last feature being 2009’s critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated sleeper hit District 9. Foster was said to be co-starring along side confirmed participants Matt Damon (The Adjustment Bureau, True Grit) and Sharlto Copley (District 9, The …
Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now …