- John Hansen
- March 10, 2019
The strangely enduring legacy of Luke Perry’s Pike in the ‘Buffy’ saga
With the tragic death of Luke Perry (1966-2019) from a stroke this past week, there’s been an influx of “Buffy” fans announcing that they loved
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- John Hansen
- March 7, 2019
‘Varsity Blues’ (1999) smartly parodies teen sports flicks
I recall that the theater was packed with an enthusiastic crowd for “Varsity Blues” in January 1999. Not that it was a huge movie –
- John Hansen
- March 4, 2019
Mamet keeps us guessing in ‘Spartan’ (2004)
“Spartan” (2004) lacks the usual crisp screenplay of David Mamet, who also directs, but its lack of laser-focus might be part of the point here.
- John Hansen
- March 1, 2019
Despite being from her point of view, ‘Summer ’03’ keeps teen’s world at a timid distance (Movie review)
“Summer ’03” (2018) had the misfortune of coming out the same year as “Eighth Grade,” which showed new blood can be wrung from the stone
- John Hansen
- February 28, 2019
‘The Black Dahlia’ (2006) gets explored as a comedy
“The Black Dahlia” (2006) starts comedically, with cops Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) in a boxing match to raise public support
- John Hansen
- February 25, 2019
‘Heist’ (2001) boasts intricate plotting, lovable criminals
“Heist” (2001) had the misfortune of being a crime film – and one with an airplane heist in its plot — coming out in the
- John Hansen
- February 24, 2019
Korean film ‘Burning’ is a strong entry in the ‘What the heck is going on?’ subgenre (Movie review)
In the tradition of great Asian cinema, “Burning” (2018) is intensely strange and immensely engrossing. Fittingly, lead actor Ah-in Yoo, as Lee Jong-su, seems to
- John Hansen
- February 23, 2019
Japanese film ‘Shoplifters’ is a heartfelt exploration of a makeshift family (Movie review)
When I throw around the phrase “makeshift family” in reviews, I’m usually talking about tight groups of friends. But the Japanese film “Shoplifters” (2018) shows us
- John Hansen
- February 22, 2019
‘The Favourite’ critiques timeless governmental power plays, but isn’t as sharp or funny as it could be (Movie review)
A lot has been made about how horror (“Get Out” last year) and superhero (“Black Panther” this year) films are making inroads with the Oscars,
- John Hansen
- February 21, 2019
Cuaron’s ‘Roma’ a partly exhilarating, mostly exhausting, very eye-opening walk in the shoes of a 1970s Mexican maid (Movie review)
With the Oscars coming up, the guilt of constantly scrolling past “Roma” (2018) on Netflix en route to “Daredevil” episodes finally got to me, and I