Jacqueline Xerri and Sofia Popol on “Monkey Bars”
Roger Ebert once told David Lynch that the director’s 2001 masterpiece “Mulholland Dr.” is a movie that “refuses to be over” in the best sense. The same could be said […]
Tag Archives: The Criterion Collection
Oscar-Winning Production Designer Eugenio Caballero on “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Roma” and More
Few people in the film industry are as responsible for me choking back tears as Mexican production designer Eugenio Caballero. He won the Oscar in 2007 for Guillermo del Toro’s […]
Olmo Omerzu on “Winter Flies”
Olmo Omerzu has quickly emerged as one of my favorite filmmakers yet to be discovered by the majority of Americans. By age 33, the Slavic director has helmed three features […]
That Moment When You Realize You Are Agent Cooper
“I believe that these mysteries are not separate entities but are, in fact, complementary verses of the same song. Now I cannot hear it yet, but I can feel it, […]
Roaring with Laughter: “The Lion in Winter”
When master cinematographer Douglas Slocombe passed away last month at age 103, tributes began pouring in from cinephiles around the globe, many of them citing his infamous work on the […]
Here’s to You, Mrs. Henderson: Albert Brooks’s “Mother”
At nearly two decades old, Albert Brooks’s wonderful film, “Mother,” offers many nostalgic staples of ‘90s Americana: cutting-edge “picture phones,” gasoline priced at $1.21 per gallon and smart comedy for […]
All Things Shining in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”
Four years ago this month, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. I published the following piece at HollywoodChicago.com on June 3, 2011. “Where is […]
Neither Safe Nor Still: The Genius of Julianne Moore
Throughout her extraordinary career, Julianne Moore has often excelled at playing characters who are ostracized. Consider her 1950s housewife who develops forbidden feelings for her black neighbor in “Far from […]
Persona Non Grata: The Persona of 3 Women on Mulholland Drive
I wrote the following essay back in college and later presented it at the University of Notre Dame’s Midwest Undergraduate Film Conference. It was written for Dan Rybicky’s class on […]
Kieslowski, Eroticism and Véronique
I don’t think there’s ever been a film quite like Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 1991 masterpiece, “The Double Life of Véronique.” Those who complain it lacks substance or coherence somehow managed to […]
Indie Outlook 