There is a dividing line for those contemplating a viewing of FUTURE ’38. It has to do with wordplay. If you love puns you will be charmed by the whole-hearted impudence of this self-conscious parody. If not, best to move along, though you will miss a fine excursion into dead-pan drollery. As premise, we have… Read More »
NED RIFLE Completes the Cycle
Hal Hartley is the master of astringent whimsy and scathingly erudite satire. No better examples of his talents are to be found than HENRY FOOL (1997) and its follow-up, FAY GRIM (2007). Both deal with a character, Henry (Robert John Burke), who may or may not be the devil inserting himself into the desperately dull… Read More »
NO SUCH THING
You have to take filmmaker Hal Hartly on his own terms. His is a vision of deliberately slow pacing, and dialogue that is spare but pithy, rife with wit. As a result, his deliciously eccentric, stylized films are like no one else’s. You either love them or you hate them. It’s as simple as that.… Read More »
SAFE
SAFE is not a bad film, nor is it a particularly good one. It is, however, a Jason Statham film, which means that while the story is predictable and the direction is competent but unremarkable, it has a star who can almost, but not quite, toss the flick on his brawny shoulders and carry it… Read More »