film reviews
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Review by Aaron Jones | April 5, 2024
Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. Capitalism and Christianity, the two major building blocks of colonial American history, are juxtaposed forces, each represented by their corresponding, unforgettable, and formidable adversaries. Paul Thomas Anderson conjures a sweeping cinematic collision of these two forces in his 2007 epic masterpiece.
Review by Aaron Jones | March 22, 2024
When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. Released in 1958 in its re-cut form as a B-movie and the bottom bill of a double feature, it was received with much higher regard in Europe, winning Best Film at the 1958 Brussels World Fair. However, in the US, it became the nail in the coffin of Welles’s relationship with Hollywood, serving as the last film he would make in Hollywood’s studio system.
Review by Aaron Jones | March 10, 2024
In 1943, Rudolf Hoss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, lives with his wife Hedwig and their five children in an idyllic home next to the camp. Hoss takes the children out to swim and fish, and Hedwig spends time tending the garden. Beyond the garden wall, gunshots, shouting, and sounds of trains and furnaces are audible. It received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning two for Best International Feature and Best Sound.
Review by Aaron Jones | February 29, 2024
With his first Dogme 95 film director Lars von Trier opens up a completely new film platform. With a mix of home-video and documentary styles the film tells the story of a group of young people who have decided to get to know their “inner-idiots” and thus not only facing and breaking their outer appearance but also their inner. It was screened at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or, despite being met with widespread criticism upon release.
Review by Aaron Jones | February 19, 2024
Middle-aged Giulietta grows suspicious of her husband, Giorgio, when his behavior grows increasingly questionable. One night when Giorgio initiates a seance amongst his friends, Giulietta gets in touch with spirits and learns more about herself and her painful past. The film was shown in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, and received two Academy Award nominations. Woody Allen loosely remade it with his 1990 film Alice.
Review by Aaron Jones | February 11, 2024
Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple’s bond of love is severely tested. Amour was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. It also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and was nominated in four other categories. The film is often ranked as one of the best films of 21th century.
Review by Aaron Jones | January 28, 2024
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality. The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for many and won several awards, including the Gold Hugo for Best Feature Film at the Chicago Film Festival.