ogradyfilmSep 19, 20203 minThe Poetry of Violence: Slaying the Dragon[WARNING: The following essay contains MAJOR SPOILERS for 13 Assassins, Skyfall, Django Unchained, and Avengers: Endgame.] What defines a...
ogradyfilmMar 8, 20202 minReview: Made in Hong KongVentured out to Metrograph to catch a screening of the gorgeous new 4K restoration of Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong. This stylish, anarc...
ogradyfilmJan 12, 20202 minReview: 19171917 is a breathtaking technical achievement. Producing a “single-take” movie (even one as obviously stitched-together as this—not a crit...
ogradyfilmDec 11, 20191 minThe Poetry of Violence: House of BambooI’ve decided to revisit my House of Bamboo review because I somehow forgot to mention that it features one of the most realistically abru...
ogradyfilmNov 5, 20193 minReview: The Irishman[The following review contains SPOILERS; you have been warned!] If the poetry of violence is a language in and of itself, then Martin Sco...
ogradyfilmJan 2, 20192 minReview: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” isn't merely a title; it's a mission statement. It immediately evokes a vivid image, promising a celebration and/or...
ogradyfilmDec 28, 20182 minReview - Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)The original Harakiri (1962) is an uncompromisingly uncomfortable film, a scathing criticism of the fetishization of bushido in general a...
ogradyfilmDec 5, 20182 minReview: HostilesAs much as I love the “classic” Western, it’s been fascinating to witness how such innovative filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino and the Coe...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20183 minThe Poetry of Violence: Anatomy of an Action SceneA good action scene does not exist for its own sake; rather, it is the culmination of the screenwriter’s meticulously-laid groundwork. Sh...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20182 minThe Poetry of Violence: Breaking Rick GrimesBy the end of The Walking Dead’s seventh season premiere, Rick Grimes is a broken man. And it’s his own damn fault. And as I watched the ...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20181 minThe Poetry of Violence: Fruitvale StationFrom the opening frame to the end credits, a cloud of impending doom hovers over Fruitvale Station—not only because the visual language c...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20182 minThe Poetry of Violence: Red Dawn (2012)The remake of Red Dawn truly is a war movie for the Call of Duty generation, too preoccupied with the spectacle of bloodshed to contempla...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20182 minThe Poetry of Violence: Starship TroopersMan, woman; white, black, Filipino; farmer, college boy–under the leadership of Earth’s “Federation,” all are finally equal. Unfortunatel...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20183 minThe Poetry of Violence: Vendetta of a SamuraiIt ends with a tight close-up on the sweat-drenched face of fencing instructor Araki Mataemon (Toshiro Mifune, a far more versatile perfo...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20182 minThe Poetry of Violence: ElephantOn the morning of April 20, 1999, teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold armed themselves with semi-automatic handguns and improvised ex...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20183 minThe Poetry of Violence: Dissecting the WesternIn the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of True Grit, corpses litter the (rapidly declining) Old West. They swing from nooses, decay in coffins,...
ogradyfilmNov 25, 20183 minThe Poetry of ViolenceEver since Edwin S. Porter had his great train robber fire directly at the camera, the landscape of cinema has been drenched in blood. At...