Though ambitiously busy, the film is also self-sabotaging and stagnant, showcasing its main character’s struggles without interpreting them into a cohesive thesis.
Bang and whimper all rolled up into one, Melancholia gets a glorious Blu-ray transfer from Magnolia.
Melancholia is a film of few epiphanies and even fewer insights, and as artful as the film’s doom and gloom may be, its symbolism flounders.
The film avoids grappling with its chosen political and personal themes via plotting that eschews ethical complexity.
The film hauntingly conflates a woman’s spiritual awakening with the birth of cinema.
The film’s vapid fluffiness makes the similarly frou-frou but ultimately more politically considerate Marie Antoinette difficult to hastily dismiss.
The film is a twee Danish comedy that alternates trite New Age psychological moves with outbursts of cartoonish violence.
Everlasting Moments is a tastefully framed period story of a working-class woman’s struggle for self-fulfillment through art.
Finally, a Bond adventure one can enjoy without apology.
Casino Royale is one of the good ones, and not just for the way it wittily recontextualizes several series touchstones.
The Interpreter wants nothing more than to be tasteful.
The film is the equivalent of watching a man walk into quicksand knowing perfectly well that he will sink to his death.
Italian for Beginners is the warmest and most delicate of crowd pleasers.