As part of the revival of Film Misery, we are pleased to re-introduce our Quick Takes column, where each week a contributor offers an inventory of the most noteworthy movies they've watched, usually in the…
New on Mubi: 08.20.2015 – Catherine Breillat, ‘Manakamana’,…
New on Mubi is a weekly series reviewing and recommending the latest films to be selected by the streaming service Mubi. For $4.99 a month users gain access to a new film each day added…
New on Mubi: 08.10.2015 – ‘Actress’, ‘I Saw…
Are you an avid film watcher, desperate to fill gaps in your knowledge of film's history and independent present, but lacking the drive to seek films out without a sense of urgency? If so, or…
Quick Takes – 07.06.2015: ‘It Follows’, ‘Avengers’, ‘Mad…
It Follows (Dir. David Robert Mitchell) Grade: B+ The problem with this past year's indie horror sensations, impatient mainstream audiences tell us, is that they're not scary. Evidently we all have different mileage for what…
Quick Takes – 06.30.2015: ‘Duke of Burgundy’, ‘World…
Girls: Season 4 (Created by Lena Dunham) Grade: B- A certain atmosphere of superficiality has often marinated Girls and subsequently kept some viewers away. My own interest in the show has often been centered around…
Quick Takes – 05.27.2015: Lena’s 2015 Lightning Round
Wanna hear my New Year's Resolution? It's been such a long time since I've had a breather that I never really shared it. My goal entering into the New Year was to review every new…
Quick Takes – 04.07.14 – ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’,…
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Dir. Wes Anderson) Grade: B+ I've liked Wes Anderson a lot over the years, but I've always felt like a spectator of somebody else's delicately maintained toyhouse. Moonrise Kingdom was ornate…
Quick Takes – 03.10.14 – Catching Up on…
Non-Stop (Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra) Grade: B+ To word it too cutely, Jaume Collet-Serra is a man with a very particular set of skills. My own acquaintance with his style of tight action thriller filmmaking came…
Quick Takes: 12.04.13 – November Blockbuster Edition
You may not have noticed this as openly as I have, but we're not always so quicksilver with our thoughts on all the films making theatrical rounds. Whether they're ones we've been disappointed or surprised…
Quick Takes: 09.18.13 ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler,’ ‘The…
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) Grade: B- | 1st Viewing The humorous thing about the mandatory inclusion of the director’s name in this film’s title is that Lee Daniels’ The Butler looks almost nothing like…
Quick Takes: 08.21.13 – 2013 Art-House Horror Edition
Stoker (Dir. Park Chan-wook) Grade: A- My first experience with Park Chan-wook's divisive English-language debut was shortly after its release in March, before it seemed to drop off the radar with little word from anyone…
Quick Takes: 08.05.13 – ‘Searching for Sugar Man,’…
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) Grade: C+ | 1st Viewing Last year's Academy Award winner for best documentary was no structural pioneer or galvanizing message film, but what has been called a feel-good, inspirational tale of…
How are 2013 Documentaries Operating as Advocacy or…
It may be that I wasn't paying enough attention before, but I feel like documentary filmmakers have been building a stronger platform for the medium in recent years. Last year's nominees for the Documentary Feature…
Quick Takes: 06.03.2013 – ’42’, ‘Frances Ha’, ‘Stories…
Electrick Children (2013) Directed by Rebecca Thomas | Grade: B I often have some difficulty with Breakthrough Performance awards, since they often fog up the line between breakthrough and debut. In any case, who is…
Quick Takes – 05.21.13 – Alex Plays Catch-Up
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Grade: B | 1st Viewing If it weren’t for the fact that J.J. Abrams is a master structuralist, I might have had a lot less fun with Star Trek Into…
Quick Takes – 05.14.2013 (The Back-Log Edition)
The past few months have been rather busy for me. With work and grad school taking up far more time than I had anticipated, I have not had the chance to give Film Misery -…
Quick Takes: 04.10.2013 – Monadnock International Film Festival
It's both a light treat and a major distraction that the town I go to college in is finally getting a film festival of it's own. On the one hand, it's a chance to raise…
Quick Takes – 4.1.2013
Pearl Harbor Grade: A- I’ve been tough on Michael Bay in the past, with very good reason, but the one credit I can give him is the innate power of Pearl Harbor, which manages even…
Quick Takes – 3.18.13
This is 40 Grade: B- The general consensus for This is 40 seems to be that Judd Apatow is far too indulgent and bloats his film with tangential asides and masturbatory diversions. All of…