Most critics have approached Werner Herzog’s latest film Rescue Dawn with qualifying kid gloves, as if it would be impolite to question a late work from such a grand old man of the seventies German New Wave. Those who are respectful of his earlier career but not exactly enthused may be perplexed by this odd ... read more »

In four films, two for Alfred Hitchcock (Rope {1948} and Strangers on a Train {1951}), one for Nicholas Ray (They Live by Night {1948}) and one for Luchino Visconti (Senso {1954}), Farley Granger undercut his sexy good looks and puppy-ish charm with undercurrents of dark moral fecklessness; you could hear his doubts and unsavory desires ... read more »

David Lynch’s Inland Empire, which runs 172 minutes, keeps collapsing in on itself. This is sure to frustrate most people, even Lynch fans. (I was not a big Lynch fan until the glorious Mulholland Drive, a major, sensuous film about Hollywood, tragic love fantasies and the cult of Marilyn Monroe.) Inland Empire hearkens back to ... read more »