George A Romero was never one to apply subtly to his cinematic art. He was always interested in transplanting his feelings about deep and still very relevant social issues in to the horror genre. His ideas about the military industrial complex, gross consumerism and class warfare still ring loudly in modern society, and “The Amusement Park” fits right in to that stark tableau. Although not horror in the strictest sense, “The Amusement Park” is very much a Romero brand horror movie. It’s about the ravages of growing old, and how society treats the elderly.
Tag Archives: Drama
Enfant Terrible (2020)
German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a major figure in New Wave Cinema, this film explores his life, his work, and his way of being.
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Joe Wright’s “The Woman in the Window” wears much of its influence and inspiration on its sleeve. Before we meet the character Anna, the camera pans past a still shot of Jimmy Stewart from “Rear Window.” This sets the stage for a movie clearly influenced by Hitchcock’s masterpiece that completely misses the mark on every level. Wright’s film is a long troubled production that could have managed more editing here and there, as it’s a sloppy, droning, and genre confused mess.
Man Push Cart (2005): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Ramin Bahrani’s stellar and often brilliant drama is very much a post 9/11 film about the immigrant experience, the “America Dream,” and the promise of perpetual poverty. In a country that doesn’t even grant its born citizens a chance at higher quality of life, what hopes do immigrants have? Ramin Bahrani’s indie hit “Man Push Cart” focuses primarily on Ahmad, a young man who is working toward a big goal that always seems so painfully out of his grasp. Like everyone in America, he works until he can barely stand, and he does it every single day without complaining.
Better Days (2019)
As bullying in and outside of school intensifies for a teenage girl, she finds that she has few resources and feels alone in the world. As things escalate even further, a teenage boy who looks like an unlikely protector takes her under his wing so that she can get her schooling, take her placement test, and do well in life.
Poms (2019)
The way Roger Ebert felt toward “Bucket List” is kind of the way I feel toward “Poms.” While it is a movie that’s meant to be life affirming and celebrating old age, “Poms” watches like a patronizing, exploitative last gasp of a once excellent actress. For a movie that is meant to be fun and light hearted, “Poms” is painfully depressing while also being embarrassingly bland and silly when we get down to it. I’m all for movies that confront the idea of ageism and that nothing can hold us back from accomplishing our dreams, but “Pom” is absolutely disingenuous to its very foundation.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Aaron Sorkin is a man who isn’t shy about dialogue. He’ll enlist huge rants and back and forths between his characters, and yet there’s always something meaningful traded that adds to the overall narrative. A lot of people have taken issue with that staple but it generally works in great favor with “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” It’s not just an excellent dramatic reproduction of a milestone event in 1969, but it also is the movie that we sorely needed right now. In 2020, America completely turned the tide engaging in protests and important statements about civil rights, and Sorkin swoops in to add to the important conversation.