As with any year, some people have begun arguing that 2013 was a bad year for film, because of the expected glut of effects-heavy blockbusters that litter the multiplexes each summer, or because there was a lack of auteur-driven storytelling for the majority of the year. Though it is indeed frustrating that studios hold their …
We are now officially half way through the year and so I’ve asked our staff to vote for their favourite films released thus far. Hollywood blockbusters may have disappointed us, but thankfully we can always rely on independent filmmakers to create some truly inspiring films. Rounding out the special mentions is Terrence Malick’s To The …
The 2013 vision of the American dream is one of grossly vapid and misplaced entitlement, if the movies have anything to say about it. As much as coming-of-age stories like Mud and The Kings of Summer are building a trend at the halfway point of the year, the new age of narcissism is making an equally bold rush on Western cinema: first, Spring Breakers; then, Pain and Gain; and now, Sofia Coppola throws her hat in with The Bling Ring, a deliberately dispassionate look at some famous-for-wanting-to-be-famous kids who stole from the rich simply because they could.
Two young boys, looking for adventure and a place to call their own, set off into the wilderness and learn a lot about themselves, adulthood, and the complexities of life in the process. This isn’t a new narrative, by any stretch, and its one that has repeated over centuries in popular culture. There is perhaps …
Mud Written by Jeff Nichols Directed by Jeff Nichols USA, 2012 Mud feels like a modern day Mark Twain tale. The story is predominantly about two teenaged boys in search of adventure on the banks of the great Mississippi river, and the incredible journey that they embark on that summer. One day while on an …
Mud Directed by Jeff Nichols Written by Jeff Nichols 2013, USA With beguiling Southern charm and an exacting sense of dread, the riveting Mud is a surprisingly sweet third film from writer/director Jeff Nichols. Like his previous works Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories it showcases uniquely troubled characters from rural America who stubbornly stick by …
Some of this year’s Sundance comedy-dramas have had their narratives plucked from the wellspring of their director’s personal experience, though that should never excuse any shortcomings. Yesterday, I wrote a negative review of Francesca Gregorini’s treatment of motherhood in Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes. My primary beef was less with the inherent trauma at …
All coming-of-age stories are, really, about the death of innocence, the moment at which each of us realizes that our innate ability to be impressionable has allowed us to blind ourselves to adults’ imperfections. As such, the new film Mud is a welcome entry into the genre, documenting a particularly memorable time for a young boy as he comes to grips with the idea that he cannot bend his world to his will, to make it as perfect as he’d like
[quote by=”Author Name”] Two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios — he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the …