All posts for the month June, 2015

The Wolfpack

Movie review by Greg Carlson Fascinating and frustrating, Crystal Moselle’s documentary “The Wolfpack” is essential viewing for fans of DIY moviemaking and cinephilia. The premise of Moselle’s film and the promise of her incredible subjects – a sextet of isolated, homeschooled brothers who grew up carefully acting out movies like “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Dark […]

Dope

Movie review by Greg Carlson A sticky mashup of broad comedy, contemplated quirk, and stylish pretentiousness, the latter of which doubles as writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s heart-on-sleeve love letter to his formative years, “Dope” operates a little bit like “Risky Business” meets “Friday.” Fishtailing between tonal shifts as rapid-fire as some of the semiautomatic weapons brandished […]

I’ll See You in My Dreams

Movie review by Greg Carlson A luminous Blythe Danner portrays one of the warmest and most inviting characters of her long career in “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” a quiet and seductive movie about the contours of friendship and the parameters of solitude. Danner’s Carol Petersen resists the entreaties of her trio of pals […]

Girlhood

Movie review by Greg Carlson “Girlhood,” Celine Sciamma’s third feature and the conclusion of what the filmmaker considers a coming-of-age trilogy, continues her engagement with the bildungsroman. Not as contained as debut “Water Lilies” or as directly preoccupied with gender as “Tomboy,” “Girlhood” follows the trajectory of teenager Marieme (Karidja Toure), a bright young woman […]

Atari: Game Over

Movie review by Greg Carlson When Microsoft’s subsidiary Xbox Entertainment Studios ceased operations, only one episode of the planned series “Signal to Noise” had been produced. The first cycle of the show was originally slated to include six documentaries on various aspects of videogame culture and the videogame industry. Screenwriter and director Zak Penn, known […]