By Tim Winterstein - A couple years ago at the Newport Beach Film Festival, when my brother said I needed to watch a film called California Typewriter, I laughed. I didn't care about typewriters; I certainly didn't want to watch a whole movie about them. Maybe you would share that reaction. What could possibly be … Continue reading Magic in the Keys
By Tim Winterstein - The Haunting of Hill House is probably the most philosophical ghost story you'll ever watch—except for maybe A Ghost Story, but that one is not scary. Hill House (10 episodes, streaming on Netflix) definitely has its share of cover-your-eyes moments and horror commonplaces. But, as with the best of them, those … Continue reading The Ghosts of the Past that Haunt Us Still
By Tim Winterstein - So I've just seen my favorite movie of the year. I'm not taking credit for noticing this, though. That goes to my friend Nick, who recommended to me Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot. Maybe we just agree that Joaquin Phoenix plays all the parts from now on, eh? … Continue reading A Recovered Life
By Tim Winterstein - Coraline (2008, streaming on Amazon Prime) might be the perfect movie for All Saints or All Souls (not that I'm praying for the dead in Purgatory, understand). What a great, semi-frightening children's movie that gets to the heart of what matters in a family. I don't know how closely it follows … Continue reading St. Coraline the Mundane
By Tim Winterstein - Halloween is almost upon us, and some people like to watch scary movies. But don't see the new Halloween or Predator or The Nun. If you want a real horror show—because it's true—go see Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer. I saw it a couple Fridays ago and, while … Continue reading Gosnell and the Hypocrisy of Everything
By Tim Winterstein - After I watched Troubled Water last week, one of Amazon's recommendations was Adam's Apples (2005, streaming on Amazon Prime), about a naive pastor in Denmark, Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen), who welcomes in a neo-Nazi in hopes of (I think) rehabilitating him. Add that neo-Nazi to a Saudi immigrant who robs gas stations … Continue reading Absurdity between God and Evil
By Tim Winterstein - Troubled Water (2008, streaming on Amazon Prime) is really a brilliantly made film. You know the whole thing is going to collapse and fall apart between Thomas and Agnes, but you don't know when. That tension builds and builds, even when there is nothing tense happening in a given moment. And … Continue reading Guilt and Grief, and Relief
