Gran Torino

“I finish things; that’s what I do, and I’m going it alone.” Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a tall, white-haired, racist veteran of the Korean War trying to make sense of a changing America. The enjoyment he once found sharing his neighborhood with white folks has morphed into abjectly watching Hmong immigrants invade the homesContinue reading “Gran Torino”

Jojo Rabbit (film review)

I got to watch Jojo Rabbit with a group of friends – and it’s the best film I’ve seen lately. The reactions I’ve heard/seen from some friends have been somewhat mixed – but I certainly loved it. Simply put, Jojo Rabbit a melodrama wrestling with deep, dark questions of nationalism, hate, and compassion through the eyesContinue reading “Jojo Rabbit (film review)”

“Marriage Story” film review

In An Introduction to Film Genres, Friedman defines the genre of melodrama as, “Films centering on personal relationships…that seek to elicit spectator sympathy for the film’s protagonists and tell their story in a lighthearted style that may include spectacular effects, implausible coincidences, plot twists, and a clear dichotomy between good and evil” (Friedman, 85). Marriage Story certainlyContinue reading ““Marriage Story” film review”

the squid and the whale

I’m the type who will spend forty-five minutes laboring over the choice of what movie to watch. And then usually the choice is between films that you have to really work to appreciate. Tonight, I found myself feeling like watching something. And forty-five minutes, later I found myself on the porch having finally chosen TheContinue reading “the squid and the whale”