Author Archives: Sammie Purcell

Before Jean-Luc Godard was a filmmaker, he was a film critic. And before that, he was a film fan.  That fandom is part of the ethos of the French New Wave, the groundbreaking cinematic movement of the 1950s and 60s. Yes, those directors rejected the strictures of traditional filmmaking. Yes, they brought new approaches to […]

Toward the beginning of “Hedda,” we find our titular heroine (Tessa Thompson) standing alone atop her vast estate wielding a pistol. Down below, Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) makes his way across the grass. He’s arrived early for Hedda’s party, thrown in celebration of her marriage to George Tesman (Tom Bateman).  Hedda admonishes Brack for […]

There are multiple moments in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” where someone tells Linda (Rose Byrne) to prioritize herself.  It’s something mothers hear often. Linda’s therapist (Conan O’Brien) tells her to try and get a good night’s sleep. Her daughter’s doctor (Bronstein) warns her that before she can worry about her […]

There’s a story that Bruce Springsteen tells before “The River,” played live in 1985 at the LA Coliseum. The story centers around his fraught relationship with his dad. He talks about the fights they used to have, and how he’d have to work up the nerve to go home to face him. He recalls how […]

About halfway through “Urchin,” Mike (Frank Dillane) comes face to face with a man he once assaulted and robbed.  It’s a purposeful meeting, part of Mike’s recovery and rehabilitation (he’s an addict, but about seven months sober at this point). The meeting is meant to give both Mike and Simon (Okezie Morro) a chance to […]

“The Smashing Machine” starts with a long montage of fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) pounding and wailing on various opponents. The camera is oddly divorced from the action, but there’s no denying the fact that Kerr – one of the most famous figures in the early years of mixed martial arts and UFC – is […]

It seems that lately, many of our best directors are making their big “America” movies – movies about this so-called great experiment and where we find ourselves as a country today. Two years ago, we got Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Just this year, we got Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” and Spike Lee’s “Highest […]

There’s a moment towards the end of Kogonada’s “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” where David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie) are sitting at a table across from their respective exes. The exes are waiting for David and Sarah to explain why they broke up with them – and not the canned answers they gave […]

“Caught Stealing” is a funny name for Darren Aronofsky’s new film. Not just because of how much baseball factors into the plot, but because in reality, every character kind of gets away with everything. Unless they end up dead.  “Caught Stealing” doesn’t really feel like an Aronofsky movie, but rather like Aronofsky by way of […]

There’s a joke early on in “Honey Don’t!” where private eye Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley) goes to visit her sister, Heidi (Kristen Connolly). Heidi lives a life a far cry from Honey, who drinks tequila straight and lives alone and aloof in her very nice apartment. In contrast, when we first meet Heidi, she’s pregnant, […]

Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece “High and Low” – a gripping drama about class stratification, and morality, and whether the choices we make really matter – is the last movie that warrants a remake. But, for as much as Spike Lee’s new film “Highest 2 Lowest” follows almost the exact same structure as its inspiration, it’s […]

Come with me on a journey back to 2003, and answer me this: what was the magic sauce that made “Freaky Friday” work? It was partly Jamie Lee Curtis, yes – that can’t be overstated. But the real magic of that movie is Lindsay Lohan. Curtis had the far more fun role, given the space […]

During an early scene in “The Naked Gun,” Frank Debrin Jr. (Liam Neeson) is kneeling in front of a photo of his father, Frank Debrin Sr. (Leslie Nielsen, of the original 1988 film), asking for guidance.  “I want to be just like you,” he says. “But original! And completely different!” Neeson might as well be […]

Early on in James Gunn’s “Superman,” Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) sits down for an interview with Superman himself (David Corenswet). AKA, Clark Kent. Her boyfriend.  Lois and Clark have been dating for several weeks by this point, and she knows the truth about his Kryptonian origins and his super alter ego – a great choice […]

When “Jurassic World Rebirth” begins, we see a bunch of scientists scurrying around a lab, doing something they definitely shouldn’t be doing with dinosaur DNA.  We’re following one guy in particular (our entry point into the movie, but also a guy doing some remarkable product placement for Snickers), but as we follow him around the […]

“It’s not about the money.” In Joseph Kosinski’s “F1,” retired and semi-disgraced racecar driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) repeats this line often – usually in reference to questions about why he feels the need to cram himself into a metal box and drive in circles at speeds of over 200 mph.  So, what is it […]

There’s a particular type of movie I’ve always had a soft spot for. I like to call them my elderly British comfort movies. They usually involve an older English person who putters their way into the lives of younger characters and changes them in humorous and meaningful ways – think “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.” […]

Toward the beginning of “Materialists,” Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a matchmaker for the New York City elite, sits with a colleague discussing the men and women of the NYC dating pool as though they were brands: is there a niche market for a particular woman, how does a man’s height affect his market value, etc.  This […]

When Bjørn Lund (Michael Cera) jumps into a pit of quicksand to save Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) in “The Phoenician Scheme,” he’s not doing it because he really cares about Zsa-zsa.  Who he really cares about is Liesl (Mia Threapleton), the business tycoon’s daughter, who is so desperate to separate herself from her ruthless, […]

Driving through the countryside, aspiring author Agathe (Camille Rutherford) and grumpy literature professor Oliver (Charlie Anson) argue about Jane Austen.  He might be driving Agathe to a Jane Austen-inspired writers’ residency – and he might be the most Mr. Darcy-coded man to have ever walked the earth – but Oliver is not all that interested […]