Posts by James Roberts

[rating=7.00] How do I judge a movie that has the pedigree of Bridge of Spies? Bridge of Spies is a movie directed by one of the all-time great directors (Steven Spielberg), co-written by two of the all-time best screenwriters (Joel and Ethan Coen, working with Matt Charman) and starring one of the best actors of […]

[rating=4.00] It was one of those moments that stopped the world. Images of a smiling girl trickled through the newswires from Pakistan, her bright face heinously juxtaposed by the captions and voices of the reporters that told us Malala Yousafzai had been shot. Her story transcended boundaries of politics, race, and culture as citizens of […]

[rating=7.00] The war on drugs fueled violence just south of the border in Mexico offers a wealth of inspiration for anyone looking to craft a taut and nuanced portrayal of cinematic crime. The cartels who vie for power and control of the trafficking routes are notorious for the extremes they’ll go to exert their authority […]

[rating=8.00] By nature, man is a beast who constantly strives to push boundaries. Personal boundaries. Cultural boundaries. Societal. It doesn’t really matter to us. If there’s a line in the sand, we dare to cross it. If there’s a no to be given, some rebel will inevitably scream “YES” in defiance. It’s what makes us […]

[rating=9.00] The isolated man has been a theme of literature since, well, we’ve had literature. The need for connection is so innate that the exploration of its absence offers us a deep and resonating insight into the pathos of the human condition. From Robinson Crusoe to Castaway, the stories of man are littered with tales […]

[rating=9.00] I’ve had my suspicions for some time now, but they’re confirmed now. With the release of A Raw Youth, Le Butcherettes have solidified their position as the finest rock and roll band working today. Three records into their career, and they’ve proven themselves to be a diverse group who’s not beholden to any particular […]

[rating=7.00] The allure of Mount Everest is almost mythical. The world’s tallest mountain has captivated explorers and thrill seekers for time immemorial with its elusive summit, first reached in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Its awe is matched only by its treachery, with over 250 deaths attributed to the beast; most recently, in […]

[rating=6.00] The story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one of the more fascinating true crime tales of the last forty or so years. As a low level, South Boston, Irish mobster, Bulger gained a notoriety for ruthless violence, cunning strategy, and illicit money making in his rapid ascent as the head of Boston’s Winter Hill […]

Greg Graffin wears a lot of different hats. Most of us know him as the lead singer and songwriter for the legendary punk rock group Bad Religion, who for 35 years have been defining and redefining what it means to be a punk. He’s also, of course, an academic, earning a double major in anthropology […]

[rating=6.00] M. Night Shyamalan is in desperate need of a hit. Despite coming out of the gate strong with a trio of unforgettable films—The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs—the director has floundered in recent years with one lackluster film after another, becoming a pale imitation of himself and losing some ground in the process. He’s […]

Settle down, Nation. Stephen Colbert is finally back. The comedian made his debut as host of The Late Show last night, taking the coveted position from the now retired David Letterman. While Colbert seemed still in total awe of his latest gig, the results of his debut were a bit of a mixed bag, with […]

The horror community is in mourning today as it begins to process the loss of Wes Craven, a man whose name is now synonymous with terror. Over a 40 year career, the director helmed some of the scariest movies—and created some of horror’s most memorable characters—of all time. In honor of the director, who died […]

[rating=4.00] It was only a matter of time before someone attempted to make a grand cinematic statement about the wants and desires of millennials. Their ubiquity in pop culture and media makes them ripe for catering to—they are, after all, a significant and not-to-be overlooked demographic, and every generation needs that one defining film that […]

[rating=9.00] Despite its saccharine sounding name, Diary of a Teenage Girl is a film that will challenge audiences with its no holds barred depiction of teenage lust and infatuation. I imagine that reactions will be mixed pretty evenly into two camps: Those who are compelled by the unflinching look inside the mind of a fifteen […]

[rating=8.00] Writer-director Noah Baumbach has made his name on the backs of quirky characters and their foibles. Greenberg, The Squid and the Whale, and Frances Ha are all, at their hearts, character studies that explore the realities of the dreamers and wishers. It’s his wheelhouse, frankly, and he has become a modern master of zany […]

[rating=5.00] No Escape is the sort of mindless fodder that somehow works best in these late summer months. Perhaps it has something to do with the brain-frying effects of spending several months staring at screens witnessing round after round of city crumbling, earth shattering, mind numbing action that so entrenches itself in mid-year box offices. […]

[rating=4.00] I’ve been a fan of The Sword for a decade now, following the musical trail of destruction left in the wake of these Austin metalheads through epic record after epic record of pure rock fury. To say they’ve been a favorite band of mine would be a bit of an overstatement, but they’ve constantly […]

[rating=7.00] First the bad. American Ultra is, quite possibly, about as dumb a movie as you can see. It’s a genre mashup that offers nothing new for either of its genres, taking stock stoner characters and putting them into stock superspy situations. Nothing you see here is anything you haven’t seen before in a hundred […]

It’s not much, but fans of Rage Against the Machine have a little something to look forward to next month. Earlier today, it was announced that a live DVD of the band’s 2010 performance at London’s Finsbury Park will be released on September 11. The concert in question was a bit of a thank you […]

[rating=8.00] Nashville’s All Them Witches is a group that defies the modern need for hyper-classification. A case can be made for calling them sludge, psych, post-metal, or even, perhaps, doom. The cold hard fact is that all of these labels fit, more or less equally, so perhaps it would be best to use the good […]