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Category: Ben Sears’ Columns

Ben Sears' Columns 0

HIFF2020: Ben’s Column – Molto Bella (2020)

Molto Bella takes a tried-and-true premise – a forlorn poet travels abroad where he meets the girl of his dreams, who’s also running from something – and doesn’t really do anything unique with it. The cinematography and the use of locations are great (but when you’re shooting in the Italian countryside, how can it not be?). The chemistry between Paul T.O. Petersen and Andrea von Kampen – as Hal the poet and Josie the folk singer, respectively – is palpable, even when their acting styles feel a little stiff.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

HIFF2020: Ben’s Column – Picture Character (2020)

It’s hard to imagine modern daily conversations without the ever-present emoji. What emerged after the technological takeover of smartphones as a way to express a wide variety of emotions in a simplistic manner quickly spread outside our phones and became inescapable. Socks, pillows, Happy Meal toys, and bumper stickers are only a sliver of the countless products available that have cashed in on the emoji craze in recent years, with no end in sight. Emojis have largely been viewed as a force for good in the world (we can now order pizza with one simple pizza emoji sent via text message). The “face with tears of joy” emoji was named as Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2015. They’ve even withstood the release of The Emoji Movie in 2017.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: The Boys In The Band (2020) – Review

All too often today, we’re more willing to click a button and share a headline or a meme of something we already agree or disagree with in order to affirm our own stance, rather than doing the hard work of understanding the heart of the matter. Sharing memes or news stories that spread the outrage of Cuties without actually knowing the content of the film in question is akin to buying a Ford Pinto because your neighbor just bought one.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) – Review

It’s not often that a film can be simultaneously considered a documentary, a drama, and a comedy, but director Kirsten Johnson somehow manages to achieve that feat with Dick Johnson Is Dead. Movies can be used as a director’s way to put their own personal ideas and experiences out into the world: Truffaut channeled his early adolescence in The 400 Blows; Fellini expressed his struggles with the creative process with 8 ½; and Spike Lee used his experiences with racial injustice for Do the Right Thing. Johnson’s latest is not only a loving tribute to her father, but an examination of the grieving process, even when the aggrieved is still alive.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: Cuties (2020) – Review

All too often today, we’re more willing to click a button and share a headline or a meme of something we already agree or disagree with in order to affirm our own stance, rather than doing the hard work of understanding the heart of the matter. Sharing memes or news stories that spread the outrage of Cuties without actually knowing the content of the film in question is akin to buying a Ford Pinto because your neighbor just bought one.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: Tenet (2020) – Non-Spoiler Review

Tenet feels like the kind of movie Christopher Nolan has been building towards from the beginning of his career – at least on a surface level. It’s easy to spot some of the elements he’s pulling from, elements that have helped to define his aesthetic as a filmmaker: you of course have the incredible mind-bending visuals like in Inception and Interstellar, the action sequences from the Batman trilogy, the third act reveal from The Prestige, the perplexing chronology of events like in Memento and Dunkirk, and the complicated romantic entanglements of The Dark Knight, to name a few. Typically when a filmmaker cribs the best of himself to be put into one film, the result is an unbridled success, but Tenet just can’t make all of its puzzle pieces into an enlightening picture.

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Ben’s Column: Yes, God Yes (2020) Review

Yes, God, Yes is not an outright teen sex comedy; it’s much more nuanced because its ultimate goal is more than just seeing its protagonist get laid. At a lean 78 minutes, the film just wants Alice to gain a better understanding of herself and her sexuality. Funny but critical, biting but not mean-spirited, Yes, God, Yes is a promising work for all involved.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: Greyhound (2020) Review

Greyhound bears a striking similarity to last year’s 1917, in that there’s a clear endpoint objective at stake, and the characters we spend the most time with are frustratingly opaque. But whereas 1917 took time to reflect and add at least a little characterization between its video game-like checkpoints, Greyhound only stops and pauses for a scant few moments.

Ben Sears' Columns 0

Ben’s Column: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020) Movie Review

There are no talking heads, no title cards (save for the occasional running clock to show the passing of the day), and no opening crawl giving the history of the bar or who these people are. Some stay throughout the entirety of the film, some try to stay and end up drinking too much, and some we only meet halfway through, but each one the Ross brothers feature makes a memorable impression.