By Tim Winterstein - I pretty much knew what I was going to get when I turned on Beautiful Boy. I didn't know if it would be good as a film or not (although I was looking forward to seeing Steve Carell in a serious role—though sometimes I had trouble not letting his The Office … Continue reading The Beautiful and the Broken
By Tim Winterstein - Watching a screen is more or less a passive activity, regardless of the film or show. And whether it's on the “more” side or the “less” side, watching can fulfill various purposes. I'm a fan of escapism at certain times. When my brain has been engaged throughout the day and under … Continue reading Happy as Lazzaro
By Tim Winterstein - [SPOILERS] I don't know if the current cultural moment is producing a thematic bounty of what it means to deal with pain and guilt or if it was always equally present. Either way, the idea of what to do with guilt we can't erase—because we can't go back and undo it—seems … Continue reading To Forget
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
