Levi on Film

“The Zone of Interest,” 2023, directed by Jonathan Glazer ★★★★ ★ It’s hard to know what to expect from " The Zone of Interest" when watching it for the first time. It’s a “Holocaust movie” – a loaded phrase that, in itself, implies undue dramatization, exploitation, and sterilization of a genocide. " Schindler's List " , " T he Boy in the Striped Pajamas " , and " Life is Beautiful" have all seen their fair share of criticism, and rightly so; there’s something insidious about using the real-life death of millions as a basis for entertainment. So when audiences first sit down to watch “ The Zone of Interest” , they may be appropriately skeptical. " The Zone of Interest" , however, isn’t designed to entertain. It feels bad to watch. There’s not even a traditional narrative structure – just a series of vignettes, seen from afar, obscuring and implying the most ghastly crimes behind a large, cement wall. The wall divides the infamous A

  “Rebel Moon -- Part One: A Child of Fire,” 2023, directed by Zack Snyder ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Zack Snyder, the ultimate auteur of bro-ey slow motion and brooding superheroes, is in a difficult stage in his career. Following the infamous “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, many associate him with overindulgent runtimes and an unfriendly, cultish fanbase. One would hope that he could use the opportunity that is “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire” to redeem his public image and craft an original series of  sci-fi films that take him a step forward, away from the DC fanboys and forgettable zombie flicks. Unfortunately, though, “Rebel Moon” far too closely resembles its beginnings as a rejected “Star Wars” script, solidifies Snyder as a pathological mimic, and had a longer, R-rated director's cut planned even before its release (an obvious attempt by Netflix to repeat the unrepeatable fan-generated hype around “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”). It’s almost tragic considering how much potential

  “Skinamarink,” 2023, directed by Kyle Edward Ball ★★★★ ½ It’s no surprise that “Skinamarink” director Kyle Edward Ball got his start on the internet. On his YouTube channel, Bitesized Nightmares, Ball visualizes viewer-submitted bad dreams in under ten minutes with minimal dialogue, practical effects, and a hazy, retro aesthetic that seamlessly conceals his low budget. Not unlike Jane Shoenbrun’s 2021 film “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” , Ball understands how to get under the audience’s skin in a way only comparable to the fear experienced exploring the depths of the internet late at night. “Skinamarink” expounds on these methods and ideas greatly in Ball’s feature film debut, elongating the structure he honed making online shorts to 100 minutes. At first this length can feel excessive, with uneventful and purely static moments overstaying their welcome. But as the terror starts to mount, the intentionally patient atmosphere feels worthwhile. Ball sometimes undermines the tens

  “Bones and All,” 2022, directed by Luca Guadagnino ★★★★ ½ Director Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to the nauseating and obscene; his 2018 remake of the classic horror film “Suspiria” prompted mass walkouts at its initial screening at the Venice Film Festival, and even his famous coming of age romance “Call Me by Your Name” has its fair share of indelicacies. His latest, the equally tender and horrifying “Bones and All” is, like his others, a slow, uncomfortable burn, but is well-worth the patience necessary to endure it. Reserved performances, a resonant, lyrical score, and some excellent 35mm cinematography help “Bones and All” burgeon into an emotional and indelible piece of art. The plot of the film revolves around two teenagers in the 1980s: Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee ( Timothée Chalamet), both supernaturally cursed with an unexplainable need to consume human flesh. On the run from police, other “eaters”, and their pasts, the story sees the romantic pair explore all parts of

"Blonde," 2022, directed by Andrew Dominik ★★ ☆ ☆ ☆ A month on from “Blonde”’s streaming release on Netflix, it’s difficult to begin the film with no expectations. Some have slammed Andrew Dominik’s nearly three-hour adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novelization of Marilyn Monroe’s life as needless torture porn that insults the real Monroe, while its defenders have characterized it as a horrifying, poignant social commentary on iconography and sexual violence akin to David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me”. While there are some central ideas in “Blonde” that do feel successfully empathic and sensitively plaintive, far more of it comes across as dated, obtuse, and ethically disordered. Even with some arguably revolutionary technical work from cinematographer Chayse Irvin and a beautifully disturbing score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, “Blonde” is anything but culturally enduring or coherent. The film mostly features events from Monroe’s real life, and it hones its focus

  "Barbarian," 2022, directed by Zach Cregger ★★★ ½ ☆ Somewhere in between the ugliest, most inane bargain-bin horror movies and the largest studio titles like the latest “Scream” and “Halloween” reboots, there is a sweet spot. Usually, these "sweet spot" movies land a budget between one and six million dollars, and often, but not always, push the limits of gore and spectacle, assembling a the type of flick that gets put on late at night at a high school slumber party or, sometimes, if horror fans are lucky, a cult classic that warrants annual screenings. Admittedly, Barbarian, the new, highly original and compact feature from "Whitest Kids U'Know" comic Zach Cregger, doesn't quite earn that cult classic status, but it's an incredibly fun and gleefully gruesome theatrical experience. What is almost certainly Cregger's strongest element at his disposal is that of surprise. The plot first takes shape as an eerie vacation rental mix-up; protag