Written by Patrick Hao 20/100 The goal of Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall is stated in its opening title cards. “While the events of this story are fictional… These. People. Existed.” This platitude should be a warning to anyone … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 58/100 Double Walker represents another entry in the trend of horror movies dealing with the terror of misogyny inflicted on young women that even started before the MeToo movement with films like A Girl Walks Home … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 62/100 In the last decade or so, Tom Hanks’ movie star persona has been the embodiment of American professionalism. His characters are men whose greatest virtue is simply being good at their job. Captain Phillips, Sully … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 62/100 Todd Haynes is no stranger to deconstructive takes on legendary rock and roll stars. His short film Superstar, which sees Haynes depict the life of Carpenters singer, Karen Carpenter, using Barbie dolls put him on … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 73/100 It’s hard to describe exactly what Queena Li’s debut feature Bipolar is without sounding like an intern at a movie studio writing script coverage. There are bits of Luis Bunuel’ and Maya Deren’s surrealism, bits … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 70/100 Tim Blake Nelson’s face was made for a Western. Sure, the famed character actor doesn't have the swaggering stature of Gary Cooper or John Wayne, nor the everyman star charisma of Henry Fonda or James … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 35/100 The Blazing World is part of a concerning trend with genre movies in which filmmakers and the film press feel like in order to instill these films with a sense of importance, these films have … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 71/100 Another year means another entry in Hong Sang-soo’s ever expanding oeuvre. In Front of Your Face is a sparse feature that, like most of Hong’s films, lulls the viewer into a sense of malaise to … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 68/100 Filmmakers love to make movies about how hard it is to make a movie. From The Disaster Artist to Living in Oblivion, these movies about movies are often a love letter to the medium that … Continue reading.
Written by Patrick Hao 72/100 Since Her was released in 2013, a commentary on the loneliness of humans with the dawn of AI technology, filmic depictions of technology have been especially dour. The Black Mirror-ification of media harping on the … Continue reading.
