Couch Cinema

Kent Osborne and Jane Adams in the Vermont-shot film Build the Wall

Couch Cinema: 'Build the Wall'

by Margot Harrison on August 31, 2020 at 7:55PM

Will you like it? The best way to find this movie with minimal search-engine confusion is to google the title with “Joe Swanberg.” Known for his low-budget “mumblecore” work, which helped launch stars such as Greta Gerwig, the Chicago-based director went on to make slightly more mainstream slice-of-life movies such as Drinking Buddies, along with the Netflix anthology series “Easy.” Build the Wall, which was shot in six days in 2019 at the Vermont home of Osborne — Swanberg’s friend and frequent collaborator — is his back-to-basics movie.

Couch Cinema: 'At the Drive-In'

by Margot Harrison on August 24, 2020 at 8:05PM

All these types of people appear in the film, congregating at the drive-in for weekend deep dives into zombie cinema, modern classics or the Friday the 13th series. The place inspires commitment, some might say obsession.

Couch Cinema: 'Support the Girls'

by Margot Harrison on August 18, 2020 at 1:11PM

Movies about people doing “shitty jobs” (Danyelle’s term) are rare; movies about the service industry are even rarer. A naturalistic working-class comedy with shades of Steven Soderbergh, this is no Coyote Ugly.

Couch Cinema: 'The Goldfinch'

by Margot Harrison on August 11, 2020 at 11:22AM

Will you like it? Before its September 2019 release, The Goldfinch was expected to be an awards contender, given its beloved source material, director John Crowley (Brooklyn) at the helm, and Oscar winner Roger Deakins behind the camera.

Couch Cinema: 'The Old Guard'

by Margot Harrison on August 4, 2020 at 3:15PM

Another plus: The Old Guard’s small-screen budget steers it clear of the bloated CGI battles that plague its theatrical brethren. Instead, we get old-school hand-to-hand combat, and Theron sells it well enough to cement her status as a new cinematic action hero.

Couch Cinema: 'The Great'

by Margot Harrison on July 21, 2020 at 8:00AM

The palace serfs, who presumably have to clean up all that broken glass, are treated like subhumans; during an outbreak of smallpox, the nobles blithely burn their infected servants alive. Pleading for vaccination, Catherine is the viewer’s surrogate and the voice of modernity and reason, yet she’s also painfully naïve — a sheltered kid trying to rebuild a country.

Couch Cinema: 'Homemade'

by Margot Harrison on July 14, 2020 at 11:52AM

Will you like it? While it’s nice to see your home landscape on screen, the real power of Homemade is that it transports us into other people’s quarantined lives, making a powerful statement against isolation.

Sierra McCormick as a teen switchboard operator in The Vast of Night

Couch Cinema: 'The Vast of Night'

by Margot Harrison on July 7, 2020 at 12:16PM

Will you like it? Do you like classic “The Twilight Zone”?

Couch Cinema: 'Curon'

by Margot Harrison on June 29, 2020 at 5:00PM

Will you like it? I’m a sucker for a subgenre of streaming TV that I call “haunted Euroburgs.” Inspired to a greater or lesser extent by “Twin Peaks,” these European-made dramas combine supernatural doings with soapy revelations in highly scenic rural locales.

Couch Cinema: 'Fast Color'

by Margot Harrison on June 22, 2020 at 4:48PM

Will you like it? Cowritten and directed by Julia Hart, and given a meager theatrical release in 2019, Fast Color is a superhero film with the budget and values of an indie.

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