In a way, the most important relationship in Beatriz at Dinner is the one between the title character and someone who only appears in a handful of photographs. Played by a noticeably deglamorized Salma Hayek — for whom the role was tailor-made by director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White — Beatriz is a holistic
[Editor’s note: Craig J. Clark had somehow never seen a Michael Bay film until recently, when he watched all of them. He wrote about the experience here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. Given his expertise, it seemed fitting to have him review the new Transformers movie, too.] A few weeks back, film critics
As the world teeters on the brink of Transformers: The Last Knight, Craig J. Clark has finally reached the end of the road that led Michael Bay — and the rest of us — here. Craig called the tune. It’s time to pay the piper. Part IV: Gains and Losses (2013-2016) After directing three retina-searing
As the world edges closer and closer to the release of Transformers: The Last Knight, Craig J. Clark is mapping the road that led Michael Bay — and the rest of us — here. Here’s the rub: Before he embarked on this project, Craig had never seen a Michael Bay movie. And it’s too late
In the lead-up to Transformers: The Last Knight, Craig J. Clark is mapping the road that led Michael Bay — and the rest of us — here. There’s just one catch: Craig had never seen a Michael Bay movie before now. Things are about to get real. . Part II: Sneak Attacks (2001-2005) It would be a
Of all the directors who graduated from music videos and commercial work to feature films in the 1990s — a roll call that includes such luminaries as David Fincher, Antoine Fuqua, Spike Jonze, Brett Ratner, Dominic Sena, Gore Verbinski, and Simon West — the reigning king of the summer popcorn flick has to be Michael
“I wouldn’t argue that it was a no-holds-barred, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride, but there’s no way you could perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork.” In the spring of 2007, Edgar Wright’s follow-up to his debut feature Shaun of the Dead arrived in the States via a most
There’s a scene about two-thirds into David Fincher’s Zodiac in which David Toschi, the San Francisco homicide detective played by Mark Ruffalo, walks out of a screening of Dirty Harry in disgust, bemoaning the fact that he hasn’t solved the Zodiac case and “they’re already making movies about it.” (A colleague even jokes that “Harry
With February 14 once again upon us and Fifty Shades Darker siphoning an obscene amount of money out of the pockets of couples in the market for something “romantic,” it’s useful to be reminded that sometimes Hollywood presents audiences with an alternative to the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff. This year brought with it the second chapter of
Since he burst onto the independent film scene in 1994 with Clerks, profanity-prone writer/director Kevin Smith has more or less stayed on brand. With few exceptions, his films revolve around verbose slackers in varied states of arrested development – almost literally in the case of his debut’s breakout characters, the drug-dealing duo of Jay and
