Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Blog, page 67
December 12, 2015
“Chi-Raq” Is a Raison d’Être in Search of a Movie
Chi-Raq (Spike Lee, 2015) It has now been a week since I saw the latest film by Spike Lee, and I have been unsure of what to write. Rarely have I felt such a disconnect from my desire to like a movie and my intense dislike of that movie upon viewing. Mr. Lee has always been […]
December 11, 2015
My review of Kris Swanberg’s “Unexpected” on “Hammer to Nail”
I only had time to write one piece for Hammer to Nail this week, on Kris Swanberg’s Unexpected. Check it out!
“In the Heart of the Sea” Needs More Whale, Less Melville
In the Heart of the Sea (Ron Howard, 2015) In 1819, the Essex, a whaling ship out of Nantucket (then the whaling capital of the world), left on what would be its final journey. After over a year chasing its precious quarry halfway around the globe, it was attacked by a giant sperm whale and […]
December 4, 2015
“Roughly Speaking” on “Creed,” “Spotlight,” Upcoming Films, Ingrid Bergman, Orson Welles and Jeff Bridges
Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film/Video, Stevenson University – joined Dan Rodricks on his Baltimore Sun podcast, “Roughly Speaking,” where we discussed new films Creed and Spotlight, as well as upcoming end-of-year films (and Oscar hopefuls). We also celebrated the centenary of the births of Hollywood legends […]
A Reappraisal of “Dear White People,” on “Hammer to Nail”
So no reviews of new films this week, though I may go and see Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq this weekend. I did, however, publish an essay on Hammer to Nail two days ago, on the 2014 film Dear White People, in light of the recent college campus protests about race and my own (negative) reaction to the hit […]
December 3, 2015
Black Lives Matter in Baltimore: My Colleague Christopher Metzger Travels to Art Basel in Miami Beach
My colleague Christopher Metzger, formerly of Morgan State University, now of Stevenson University (as of Fall 2015), created an outdoor installation with his students at Morgan in the Spring of 2015, on the theme of Black Lives Matter. He took his inspiration from French photographer JR’s Inside Out Project Metzger’s work was invited to be […]
November 27, 2015
Reviews of “Barge” and “Lost Colony” on “Hammer to Nail”
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! On Wednesday, I put up my reviews of the big films of the week – Creed, The Good Dinosaur and Trumbo. I also had two reviews of some fine independent films published on Hammer to Nail: Barge and Lost Colony. Enjoy!
November 25, 2015
“Trumbo” Offers a Solid Hollywood Take on a Sordid Hollywood Tale
Trumbo (Jay Roach, 2015) Who was Dalton Trumbo? Do you know? If not, you should. A somewhat arrogant, self-important cuss, he was nevertheless one of the most important Hollywood screenwriters of the middle of the 20th century, made immortal by his leading position among the “Hollywood Ten” (as well as by his penning of films […]
In “Creed,” Old Meets New, to Satisfying – If Predictable – Results
Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015) Back in 2013, first-time feature director Ryan Coogler wowed the independent film world with his harrowing and extraordinarily thoughtful movie about the 2009 murder of Oscar Grant III by Oakland transit police, entitled Fruitvale Station (after the Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, station where Grant was killed). Born in 1986, Coogler is not yet […]
“The Good Dinosaur” Rewards Only the Lowest of Expectations
The Good Dinosaur (Peter Sohn, 2015) The cleverest moment in The Good Dinosaur, the new animated confection from Disney/Pixar, comes within the first few minutes. It’s 65 million years ago, and dinosaurs walk the Earth. We’re in deep space, where an asteroid separates itself from a field of fellow asteroids and spins toward its rendez-vous with Earth. […]
