Chad Liffmann – Page 3 – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “Civil War”

Civil War is bravura filmmaking with humanity at its core

Alex Garland directed Ex Machina in 2014, Annihilation in 2018, Men in 2022, and now, Civil War. That’s four definite or near masterpieces, in my humble opinion. Each film in his directorial oeuvre has served as a cinematic discussion about the impact an ever-changing issue has had on humanity, sometimes overt and other times metaphorical: artificial intelligence, environmental degradation, toxic masculinity, and now, divisive American political idealism. It would be easy to criticize Civil War as “teaching us nothing new,” but that would be missing the point. The film is not intended to be a blaring warning siren. Instead, Civil War is a disturbing sensory vision of the future, featuring a distinct set of strong characters to help ground its grand-scale and daring filmmaking, meant to elicit a potent sense of current anxieties. Continue reading “Film Review: “Civil War””

Film Review: “Monkey Man”

Monkey Man is a thrilling and stylistic revenge tale

It’s been sixteen years since audiences were introduced to Dev Patel in the Best Picture Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, and he’s finally getting his due, but not the traditional way. Born in England to Indian parents and ancestry, Patel often plays second string to older (white) actors, until recently when he headlined both Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) and David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021), the latter proving that maybe the underappreciated actor has more to offer. Taking it upon himself to show audiences his skillful range as an artist, Dev Patel is making his writing and directing debut with Monkey Man, a brutal action flick in purposeful and self-aware John Wick-styled tone and plotting. The film is a triumphant piece of stylistic filmmaking and action choreography, and an extremely promising launch to a thrilling new chapter in Patel’s belatedly blossoming career. Continue reading “Film Review: “Monkey Man””

Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us”

“Ice Cream Piano” begins with a healthy dose of guitar feedback and pronounced strumming, and then the first few lines of the album soothingly unfold, “‘Fuck the world’ / You said it quiet / No one could hear you / No one but me / Cynical, you can’t deny it.” It’s a surprising, but no less strong, sequence of phrases on which to launch Vampire Weekend’s fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us. The album explores the status quo, including international conflicts, generational attitudes, and society’s unrelenting grip on historical traumas. And yet, Only God Was Above Us, named after a headline quote in the Daily News from a real-life Aloha Airlines flight incident in 1988, is not overtly political. Rather, it’s a musical commentary about fatalism and disillusionment, punctuated by an ultimate yearning for hope and progress. It’s the most cohesively inspired Vampire Weekend album yet, with the band diving head-first into a (mostly) New York City urban soundscape of grunge and grit (see the album cover image above) while not abandoning their gleeful chamber pop origins. Continue reading “Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us””

Album Review: Elbow, “Audio Vertigo”

‘You’re a pitiless millstone / Impossible check / You’re a lure to the shore / And the rocks and a wreck / You’re a slender and elegant foot on the neck / And I love you.’ Elbow frontman Guy Garvey delivers these poetically devastating lyrics on “The Picture,” one of twelve tracks from the band’s tenth studio album, Audio Vertigo. Elbow’s previous album, Flying Dream 1 (which landed on our Top 20 Albums of 2021 list), was whimsical and contemplative, and now the band has emerged post-pandemic with a boisterous spirit, delivering an album full of groovy hooks and dark romantic musings. Continue reading “Album Review: Elbow, “Audio Vertigo””

Film Review: “Kung Fu Panda 4”

Fourth time around, kung fu fighting animals still make for a fun outing

The Kung Fu Panda franchise has been a reliable family-friendly brand since the first film was released in 2008, spawning three sequels and a few television series. What could be more thrilling than adorable animals displaying kung fu moves if you’re a child? And for adults, kinetic animated action sequences and efficient running times are welcome. Despite the noticeable absence of some major characters, Kung Fu Panda 4 continues the series’ consistent level of fun, once again embracing its charismatic central protagonist while featuring abundant colorful fight sequences.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Kung Fu Panda 4””

Film Review: “Dune: Part Two”

Dune: Part Two is a majestic and visual masterpiece

When Denis Villeneuve first revealed that his adaptation of Dune was going to be divided into two parts (kept relatively secret for some reason until the first part’s release in 2021), the news was somewhat disappointing. Was the justification for two parts simply another studio cash grab? Would the first part contain enough story to justify its existence? The answer, as you may know, was that Dune: Part One blew away everyone’s expectations, establishing Villeneuve’s vision as unique, monumental, and cinematically astounding. The stakes were high for Dune: Part Two, since Part One was a critical and box office success and even made a push for the Best Picture Oscar (which it lost to CODA, yeesh). Now Dune: Part Two has finally arrived after a long delay due to the WGA strike last year, and it’s a masterpiece. The new film expands upon the original’s narrative scope, delivering nearly three hours of stunning visual storytelling and character arcs, placing it among the best sci-fi epics of the last fifty years, and making it perhaps one of the greatest sequels in cinema history.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Dune: Part Two””

Film Review: “The Teachers’ Lounge”

The Teachers’ Lounge is a riveting microcosm of society’s clashing principles

The Teachers’ Lounge (original German title Das Lehrerzimmer) comes from director Ilker Çatak (I Was, I Am, I Will Be), and though you may not have heard of this German arthouse film, it earned numerous end-of-year accolades and is now nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. The Teachers’ Lounge is a surprisingly gripping allegorical narrative about how seemingly trivial instances, under the right circumstances and involving certain types of individuals, can build up to damaging consequences.

Continue reading “Film Review: “The Teachers’ Lounge””

Film Review: “Argylle”

Argylle is a silly waste of (too much) time and (too much) talent

Before we get too far into this review, have you seen the newest Apple laptops and desktops? If not, don’t worry, because Argylle will show you. Yes, the new Apple Original Film, the spy thriller Argylle, is very much a commercial for Apple products. But that’s the weakest of my criticisms. The best thing about Argylle being released is that we don’t have to sit through its excruciating trailer anymore, which seemed to precede every movie in existence for the past four months. The worst thing about Argylle is that the full-length film is just as excruciating.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Argylle””

Film Review: “The Iron Claw”

The Iron Claw’s energy in the ring can’t overcome its weaknesses outside the ring

Your mileage may vary on how much you care about wrestling. Wrestling only became major sports entertainment in the late 1980s with the growing popularity of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). But in the early 1980s, the Von Erich family sought fame on wrestling’s biggest stages, but tragedy continued to get in the way. The Iron Claw, a new sports drama named after the family’s trademark wrestling move, hastily captures this incredibly sad, hard-to-believe true story, but lacks emotional thoroughness in between its wrestling matches.

Continue reading “Film Review: “The Iron Claw””

Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2023

It’s been a great year for movies. All the hubbub about the ‘worst films of the year’ list that Variety put out is making a lot of noise, so I’d like to fire back with a Top 20 of the year list. There are so many to choose from, just look at the thirty movie posters above, all of which I’d consider very good films, great films, and even a few masterpieces. This is not a year to point out the worst, but rather one in which we should highlight the surplus of quality films released. Without further ado, here’s my ranked top twenty of 2023:

Fancy Dance

A criminally underseen indie film in which Lily Gladstone gives another memorable performance playing a resident of the Seneca–Cayuga Nation Reservation searching for her missing sister.

Continue reading “Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2023”