Author: Jonathan Eig
Review: Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Graduation’
In the opening shot of Cristian Mungiu’s groundbreaking 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), we see fish swimming in a bowl. Behind the bowl, a poster of New York stands as a paradise forever out of reach. That suggestion of a free world beyond the reach of everyday Romanians becomes far more overt…
Zach Braff’s lazy remake of ‘Going in Style’
This will be the second consecutive piece I have written for Curnblog which begins by referencing an earlier piece I have written for Curnblog. That may well indicate that I have written too many things for Curnblog, or perhaps that I have just run out of ideas. But if I have run out of ideas,…
From Beauty and the Beast to Trainspotting 2: Is 2017 any good?
I’ve written before on CURNBLOG about why movies released at the beginning of the calendar year are generally wretched. I’d include a link here, but you all can get off your asses (figuratively; actually you only have to type a few words into a Google search) and find it for yourselves. Sorry, I’m just in…
The President’s Analyst: The 50th anniversary of a prescient classic
“We, the undersigned mental health professionals, believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of the President of the United States.” That is how a recent Change.org petition began and it gathered close to 30,000 signatures in a few weeks.…
Numbers in Movie Titles: From One to Twelve
From 21 Grams to 47 Ronin. 99 Homes to 127 Hours. 2001: A Space Odyssey to One Million Years B.C. Yes, numbers in movie titles have been a thing. Not a meaningful thing, but then again “ten lords a leaping” isn’t the most meaningful of gifts either. Yet legend has it that if you give…