Loving Vincent (2017, Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 14, 2018
Loving Vincent is the story of the man in the yellow suit (not to be confused with the Man in the Yellow Hat, which is sort of unfortunate because monkey) and his quest to deliver Vincent Van Gogh’s last letter. The title comes from how Van Gogh signed letters to his brother–“your most loving read more
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 13, 2018
2001: A Space Odyssey has five distinct parts–the “Dawn of Man” sequence, then the space station and moon visit, then the main action before the intermission, then the main action after the intermission, then the “Jupiter” sequence. The prehistoric sequence, where an advanced alien device read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 12: Robin Rides the Wind
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 12, 2018
The chapter title, Robin Rides the Wind, got me hoping Robin would jump out of a plane or something. Without a chute. Sad spoiler: he doesn’t. The chapter does clear one of the Wizard suspects, which would probably be more effective if the character–played by Michael Whalen–appeared more often. read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 11: Robin’s Ruse
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 11, 2018
So when Robin (Johnny Duncan) is alone in the Batcave, he doesn’t use the changing room. He puts on his tights in the public area. Off-screen, sure, but Robin’s Ruse confirms it. The titular Ruse isn’t particularly exciting. It’s fairly predictable, especially after the cliffhanger reveal at read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 10: Batman’s Last Chance!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 9, 2018
The chapter title, Batman’s Last Chance!, must refer to Batman’s last chance to run around in this particular drab office building. I don’t think it’s supposed to be the same one they used earlier, but it definitely appears to be the same set. The last third–maybe less but it feels like a read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 9: The Wizard Strikes Back!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 8, 2018
There’s some family drama for Jane Adams this chapter of Batman and Robin, as George Offerman Jr. returns to provide the main story for The Wizard Strikes Back! Otherwise, it’s just Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan goofing off and being lousy superheroes. Besides watching Lowery’s Batman cape flail read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 8: Robin Meets the Wizard!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 7, 2018
Robin Meets the Wizard! does indeed feature Johnny Duncan’s Robin meeting the Wizard. The masked, unknown (undoubtedly until the last chapter) Wizard knocks Duncan out while Duncan’s on lookout. More like the boy blunder. Wokka wokka. Other than the chapter title actually referring to an event in read more
Frances Ha (2012, Noam Baumbach)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 6, 2018
Frances Ha relies on exposition but depends on summary. Or it depends on exposition but relies on summary. One or the other. Director and co-writer Baumbach and star and co-writer Greta Gerwig move Frances in the summary. Even when the film slows down for a longer scene, the style and tone don’t re read more
Dark Victory (1939, Edmund Goulding)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 5, 2018
Bette Davis and George Brent never kiss in Dark Victory. He’s a brilliant neurosurgeon, she’s a mysteriously ill young socialite. He saves her, they fall in love. But does he really save her…. Victory gives Davis an excellent part, right up until the end of the film. It’s a somewhat bumpy ride–in read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 7: The Fatal Blast
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 4, 2018
Shockingly, there is actually a blast in The Fatal Blast. Sadly it seems unlikely to be fatal enough, as there are eight more chapters to go. Not even halfway through Batman and Robin. After the cliffhanger resolution, which is yet another boring one, everyone thinks–as always–Batman and Robin are read more
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018, David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 3, 2018
The opening of Jesus Christ Superstar is the only place the three leads really interact. Jesus, Mary, and Judas all interact. Through and behind the songs, this quick narrative plays out. In addition to showcasing the performers–John Legend is Jesus, Sara Bareilles is Mary, Brandon Victor Dixon is read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 6: Target – Robin!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 2, 2018
Sadly, Johnny Duncan’s Robin is not actually a target in Target – Robin!. The chapter wouldn’t be any more compelling if he were, but it get Batman and Robin moving in a new direction. Instead, it’s more of the same. Tepid cliffhanger resolution, bad acting from Robert Lowery and Duncan, read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 5: Robin Rescues Batman!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 1, 2018
Once again, the chapter title doesn’t have much to do with the chapter. Robin Rescues Batman. Okay, sure. If you count Robin (Johnny Duncan) hiding until the bad guys leave with the stolen formula then going in and checking on an unconscious Batman (Robert Lowery). The bad guys have this extended read more
Delicatessen (1991, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 31, 2018
Delicatessen is often adorable. There’s a romance between Dominique Pinon and Marie-Laure Dougnac; they’re both adorable, so Delicatessen is often adorable. They’re star-crossed, though Pinon doesn’t know it (Dougnac does), living in a post-apocalyptic future where people eat people (though read more
Shadow of the Vampire (2000, E. Elias Merhige)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 30, 2018
Shadow of the Vampire opens with some title cards explaining the setup. Well, it opens with some title cards explaining the setup after what feels like nine minute opening titles. In reality… it’s six. Vampire ostensibly runs ninety-five minutes. Anyway. The title cards setup the making of Nosferat read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 4: Batman Trapped!
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 29, 2018
Most of this chapter, Batman Trapped, is a resolution of the previous chapter’s cliffhanger. There’s no trapped Batman in this chapter. There’s kidnapped Robin; more on that development in a bit. After the immediate resolution of the cliffhanger–thanks to Batman (Robert Lowery) having a lot read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 3: Robin’s Wild Ride
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 28, 2018
I actually can’t figure out why this chapter is called Robin’s Wild Ride. Robin (Johnny Duncan) does not have a wild ride. Unless they mean when he gets to drive the car for a bit at the beginning. The chapter’s cliffhanger resolution is pretty tepid, but Batman and Robin clearly isn’t trying read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 2: Tunnel of Terror
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 27, 2018
Even with Robert Lowery’s exceptionally questionable performance as Batman and Bruce Wayne, Tunnel of Terror is a relatively fine serial chapter. The cliffhanger resolution at the beginning is pretty weak, but then it turns out Lowery and Johnny Duncan have an almost superpower–they can sneak aroun read more
Batman and Robin (1949, Spencer Gordon Bennet), Chapter 1: Batman Takes Over
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 26, 2018
Batman and Robin gets off to a surprisingly reasonable start, even after a spectacularly absurd opening montage sequence. Gotham City is facing an unexplained crime wave; the footage they start with is a dairy hold-up. Then there are some clips from the previous Batman serial, which might be why th read more
House (1986, Steve Miner)
The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 25, 2018
House has got technical failures, acting failures, plotting failures (sort of), but it also has the mystery of William Katt’s hair. In some scenes it’s the standard Katt blond, but in other scenes, it’s brown. Sometimes it’s dark brown. Sometimes it looks like a perm. And it never looks like read more