Gabriel Basso – Spinning Platters

Bigelow’s thriller proposes a serious threat

Rebecca Ferguson calls for information in ‘A House of Dynamite.’

I’d like to assume that most people would not welcome a nuclear apocalypse, and would prefer that the few individuals with access to nuclear launch codes avoid it at all costs. Writer/director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker; Zero Dark Thirty) apparently shares this assumption, though she has instilled her fears of a (not-too-distant) nuclear holocaust into her new thriller, A House of Dynamite. Taut and unnerving, A House of Dynamite attempts a realistic portrayal of a horrific “what if” scenario. Bigelow’s film doesn’t point fingers or attempt to push the needle of public opinion in a particular direction. Instead, Bigelow frames the film as a cautionary tale that exists simply as a visual representation of our deepest nuclear fears. Continue reading “Film Review: “A House of Dynamite””

Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, and Moises Arias in The Kings of Summer — Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson in The Kings of Summer

Two teens bang sticks against a giant rusted steel pipe running through the forest; atop the pipe, a third teen dances spastically to the rhythm. The three kids continue like this for a while, devoid of distractions or concerns. They’re completely carefree, and we immediately yearn to free ourselves with them. So begins The Kings of Summer, a film about three teenagers who run away from their frustrating domestic lives to build a house in the woods and fend for themselves in the wilderness for a summer. The story is a familiar type of coming-of-age tale in which each character discovers something about his or herself — not just the teens, but the adults, as well (or at least a few of them). The film features beautiful cinematography and a lively soundtrack. It is wistful and sincere, yet partial and contrived. There is something inherently attractive about this film genre — the independent coming-of-age film — in which not that much really happens.

Continue reading “Film Review: The Kings of Summer”