by Ayeen Forootan

Savage State is more fetish than flesh, settling for cyphers that vaguely reflect old Western classics. Although the Western may be long past its heyday, there are still filmmakers working within the genre who are trying to redefine and revive it, through the introduction of…

Billie offers a look at one complex woman through the lens of another, each with a distinct story that director James Erskine manages to weave into an impressive if unambitious narrative. In February 1978, young arts writer and journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl was found…

The Metamorphosis of Birds is a sensual and lyrical work that recalls the old masters even as it carves out its own distinct and pleasurable path.  In the first volume of his literary magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time, French writer Marcel Proust writes:…

Kill It and Leave This Town is an impressive technical achievement and often stunning, but its central nihilism is oppressing and is bloated at feature length. Although their cinematic cachet may have diminished since their heyday, animated films have always been a prominent form of…

Wild Mountain Thyme is a hurried, generic The Quiet Man-Hallmark fairy tale mashup, with all the mess and none of the fun that description suggests. From the moment the trailer for Wild Mountain Thyme dropped in early November, the film has faced a healthy backlash from viewers who…

Much like its main character, Another Round is a film firmly situated somewhere between thrill and disappointment. The 19th-century French poet, Charles Baudelaire once wrote, “You have to be always drunk. That’s all there is to it — it’s the only way.” For Baudelaire, the…

Few debut albums have, since their initial release date, so easily defined themselves as a milestone and game-changer for a genre in the way of In the Court of the Crimson King. The record, released in October 1969 by British outfit King Crimson, is an…

Happiest Season is trite, platitude-heavy Christmas offering that fails on nearly every front. Five years ago, when Todd Haynes’ Carol hit theaters, a moment was marked in which the worlds of queer cinema and the Christmas film were twined. In fairness, Carol wasn’t exactly a mainstream flick wholly…

Much like the iconoclast at the center of this doc, Zappa is singular, uncompromising, and riveting. Whether you appreciate Frank Zappa’s work, few would deny the massive impact he had on contemporary art music. The musician, who died relatively young after a terminal battle with…

Leap of Faith is a fascinating fireside-style docu-chat that affords William Friedkin the space to freeform story-tell.  It’s a particular challenge (if not entirely futile endeavor) to write about films that so vividly manifest through the singular aim of presenting the viewer with in-depth analysis…