To be declared a “daring” film in the year of Gaspar Noé’s 3-D ejaculation and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Planet Hoth-inspired horse carcass sleeping bag is a difficult feat. By these standards, Ciro Guerra’s “Embrace of the Serpent” is not particularly flashy: its most shocking moment involves a temporary switch out of black-and-white. Even Dorothy would …
Contrary to what some websites have decided in recent years, Oscar predicting should not be a year-round game. The winners are not to be obsessed over, as they fade from memory quicker than most things. But on the day of the ceremony, it makes for a fun game. This year, I managed to see every …
Danny Baldwin’s 2016 Oscar Picks and Predictions Read More »
Curious name, “A War.” The setting of Tobias Lindholm’s miniature combat film is very specific—Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, where a group of Danish soldiers try to keep the peace—and yet that title, with its assertive indefinite article, suggests a deliberate distancing, presenting instead a military operation that might stand in for many battles and maybe all …
