If the myths behind Nicolas Cage are to be believed, no movie with the actor in the lead is bad. Cage carries a fun and spritely attitude to any role he inhabits. As Miller, in Butcher’s Crossing, the bison trapper is as much a myth as the actor is. In all his glory, complete with [...]
Joe Badon is an independent filmmaker based in New Orleans who made one of the most mind expanding films of recent years with the brilliantly insane film “Sister Tempest (2020).” “Sister Tempest” was a brilliant masterpiece of surrealistic cinema that was like a cross between John Waters and David Lynch. Badon's debut film "The God [...]
Who is Joe Badon? Is he the 46th President of the United States? No, that would be Joe Biden. Is he an independent filmmaker based in New Orleans who makes strange films that will change your perception of reality? Yes, that’s who Joe Badon is…a one of a kind original voice in the cinematic landscape [...]
“Domains” (2019), directed by Natsuka Kusano, is an innovative and startling examination of the nature of performance in cinema. A single plot summary cannot encompass the many ways in which Kusano dissects the multiple layers of the cinematic medium in her groundbreaking film. “Domains” is about the various degrees of truth and perception which film [...]
Although she is mostly known for her visually extravagant and surreal Broadway theatrical productions and film work, Julie Taymor created a more conventionally structured biopic with her film “The Glorias” (2020). The result is one of her most emotionally resonant works of art, and a further evolution in Taymor's increasingly accomplished cinematic projects. While Taymor's [...]
The German filmmaker Werner Herzog has always been interested in exploring non-Western based cultures, within his larger interest in the tumultuous relationship between nature and man. With his film “Family Romance, LLC” (2019), which is set in Japan with Japanese actors speaking in their own native language, Herzog has once again created a fascinating portrayal [...]
The immigrant experience has been explored before in film, but “Farewell Amor” (2020) takes the cinematic depiction of immigration to new artistic heights. “Farewell Amor” is the feature debut of the Tanzanian-American filmmaker Ekwa Msangi, and it is an astonishingly assured film that recalls the domestic dramas of such cinematic giants as Yasuiro Ozu and [...]
Throughout her filmmaking career, Jane Campion has always examined the theme of societal repression and its effects on an individual, whether it be through the lens of sexuality or psychological issues. While her previous films focused on female characters and their experiences, Campion switches to the male perspective with her staggeringly powerful film “The Power [...]
Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) is like the wild and crazy evil twin of Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Shoplifters.” Both films deal with a family in poverty who resort to extreme measures to survive, but their cinematic methods are polar opposites. While “Shoplifters” is a quiet and subtle film, “Parasite” is a rapidly paced and boisterous dark comedy/thriller. [...]
It’s rare for a filmmaker to create a masterpiece with their first film. Most filmmakers, from Martin ScorseseMartin Scorsese to David Cronenberg, had to develop their craft with their first few films before making their first great film. The most famous exception to this was Orson Welles, who astonished the cinema world with his classic [...]
