Letterboxd Spotlight: Glen Grunau on contemplative cinema and Peter Jackson’s war movie
December 1, 2020
Cinephile Glen Grunau offers a remarkable list of 100 "contemplative films" that will reward those who seek them out. Also: Grunau posts some insights on Peter Jackson's innovative WWI documentary.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Babette’s Feast: The Leftovers!
November 29, 2020
Thanksgiving leftovers!Listen in on a conversation between Alissa Wilkinson, Sam Thielman, and Jeffrey Overstreet as they celebrate the greatest feast ever filmed.
0 Comments2 Minutes
Wolfwalkers and the Rise of Cartoon Saloon — a conversation with Dr. Lindsay Marshall
November 20, 2020
Here is a new episode of the Looking Closer podcast, featuring my first impressions of Wolfwalkers, and then my conversation about it with Dr. Lindsay Marshall.
1 Comment1 Minutes
Loma’s “Don’t Shy Away” asks us to delve and discover
On Songs & Albums,Music Reviews
November 12, 2020
1 Comment14 Minutes
November 7, 2020: Relief, Elation, and Gratitude
November 7, 2020
I share this as the first in a series of more personal posts, in hopes of expanding the range of subjects I explore at Looking Closer. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of the glory that played out in front of me at the close of this beautiful day.
1 Comment11 Minutes
New adventures in hi-fi: Check out the new Looking Closer podcast!
On Movies & Media,On Songs & Albums,On Books & Writing,Journal
October 17, 2020
It seems inevitable: a Looking Closer podcast!
0 Comments1 Minutes
Overstreet Archives: Séraphine (2008)
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
September 11, 2020
0 Comments9 Minutes
Overstreet Archives: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
September 9, 2020
0 Comments23 Minutes
In Bacarau, a town fights back against gunslinging predators
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
August 26, 2020
0 Comments11 Minutes
A Bright Moon Over the Dunes: Memories of Japan Become Music in Eric Gorfain’s “Kyo Shu”
August 13, 2020
Here's my conversation with composer and musician Eric Gorfain, whom you have probably heard many times on albums you love. But wait until you hear his new solo work!
0 Comments27 Minutes
Overstreet Archives: Days of Heaven (1978)
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
August 5, 2020
0 Comments12 Minutes
Overstreet Archives: A Very Long Engagement (2004)
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 21, 2020
A blast from the past: Here's my original review of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's World War One epic.
0 Comments10 Minutes
The Quarry: murder, scripture, and Southern Gothic style
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 20, 2020
Set in a world rich with echoes of Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy, The Quarry's story of a fake preacher and a violent sheriff raises hard questions about the possibility of redemption in a world as ruined as this one.
1 Comment16 Minutes
It’s Groundhog Day in Palm Springs
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 15, 2020
Palm Springs plays with a familiar formula, and its innovations are diminished by its crassness and the flimsiness of its "insights."
0 Comments12 Minutes
Da 3 Movies in Da 5 Bloods
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 13, 2020
Spike Lee's latest multi-tasking movie is a ferocious work of passion and Gospel that succeeds in spite of its stumbles and dissonant styles.
1 Comment19 Minutes
Extra Ordinary Ghost-busting in Ireland
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 6, 2020
The second big paranormal-thriller surprise of the summer (after The Vast of Night), Extra Ordinary is the funniest thing I've seen all year.
0 Comments5 Minutes
Catching Up With The Bling Ring
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
July 5, 2020
When those that qualify as the 2% won't rest until they've stolen their way into the 1% — The Bling Ring is a thoughtful and prophetic portrait of a generation obsessed with becoming media gods, exploiting social justice slogans in service of their own social-media avatars.
0 Comments15 Minutes
Why The Vast of Night hits close to home
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
June 24, 2020
Like 2019's Prospect, Amazon's new sci-fi thriller The Vast of Night makes magic with modest resources and gives us the two most memorable investigators of the paranormal since Mulder and Scully first argued.
1 Comment15 Minutes
Predators in academia: Shirley’s search for lost girls
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
June 8, 2020
Shirley, driven by great performances from Elizabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg, is dark, strange, and unnervingly wise.
1 Comment15 Minutes
Raised by 20th Century Women
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
May 23, 2020
I recently caught up with director Mike Mills's film 20th Century Women and wished I'd seen it earlier to include it in my 2016 Favorites list.
0 Comments13 Minutes
Onward’s Frivolous Fantasy
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
May 8, 2020
Looking for an escape from sheltering-at-home familiarity, I turned to America's most reliable animation studio. But Pixar's Onward remains stuck in uninspired tropes.
0 Comments21 Minutes
Catching Up With Cléo from 5 to 7
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
May 5, 2020
In which I begin posting thoughts on the movies I'm watching during the 2020 season of COVID-19 lockdown. First up? A beloved French New Wave masterpiece by Agnes Varda.
1 Comment18 Minutes
Hard times are good times for Auralia’s Colors
April 20, 2020
The people of House Abascar have been betrayed by false promises and robbed of colors, robbed of hope. But there are rumors of a girl in the woods who gathers colors that no one else has ever seen. And now, you can hear those colors. During these stay-at-home days, you're invited to a reading of Auralia's Colors.
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In the midst of trouble and grief… a joyous day!
April 12, 2020
Celebrate with people from 40 countries, in 25 language, as we announce the Good News to the world.
2 Comments1 Minute
Before Mulan… we had Whale Rider.
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
March 26, 2020
Before you see Niki Caro's reinvention of Mulan, discover her 2003 film about another young female hero who subverts the expectations of her people and overturns restrictive patriarchal traditions.
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Vagabond (1985)
On Movies & Media,Film Reviews
March 25, 2020
My enthusiasm for Agnes Varda's documentaries has prompted many to recommend her narrative features. This week, I caught up with Vagabond.
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The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
February 29, 2020
Joe Cornish's latest is something less than a chip off the ol' Attack the Block.
0 Comments10 Minutes
Let the Corpses Tan (2019)
February 22, 2020
Dazzling and hyperviolent, Let the Corpses Tan is one of the most creative thrillers I've seen in years. But take a note of heavy caution: It's also upsettingly graphic.
0 Comments6 Minutes
El Sur (1983)
February 18, 2020
In which I catch up with a 1983 masterpiece — a father-daughter dance for the ages.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Strange Negotiations (2019)
February 8, 2020
Brandon Vedder's portrait of David Bazan follows the rock star through harrowing experiences of fear, doubt, betrayal, and self-discovery.
0 Comments12 Minutes
Looking Closer with Jeffrey Overstreet
(now the ears of my ears awake andnow the eyes of my eyes are opened)
– e. e. cummings, “i thank You God for most this amazing”