Film essays, interviews, and cultural criticism from Jambys.https://downtime.jambys.com/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/under-the-skin-still-has-the-power-to-unsettle-and-provoke/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/under-the-skin-still-has-the-power-to-unsettle-and-provoke/Revisit Jonathan Glazer's disturbing contemporary sci-fi classic about a mysterious alien on the hunt.Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTDevan Suberhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/midnight-run-looking-back-at-remember-the-titans/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/midnight-run-looking-back-at-remember-the-titans/Remember the Titans succeeds partially because it frames sports and entertainment as cultural battlegrounds for larger political forces.Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTBrendan Boylehttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-rapture-wrestles-with-crises-of-art-and-faith/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-rapture-wrestles-with-crises-of-art-and-faith/Michael Tolkin's directorial debut explores (dis)belief within the end of the world.Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMTCharles Bramescohttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/time-and-artistic-priorities-keep-on-slippin-no-way-outs-radical-evolution-from-the-big-clock/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/time-and-artistic-priorities-keep-on-slippin-no-way-outs-radical-evolution-from-the-big-clock/Two films adapted from the same source material released nearly 40 years apart illustrate Hollywood's evolution from its Golden Age.Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMTMike D'Angelohttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/not-much-is-really-sacred-on-todd-haynes-im-not-there/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/not-much-is-really-sacred-on-todd-haynes-im-not-there/Haynes' experimental biopic takes cues from Citizen Kane to illustrate the unknowability of the 20th century's most mythic rock star.Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMTForrest Cardamenishttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-sweeter-side-of-submission-expressions-of-love-in-secretary/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-sweeter-side-of-submission-expressions-of-love-in-secretary/Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader's unconventional romance chronicles a coming-of-age tale by way of a BDSM fantasy.Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMTSoraya Sebghatihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/behold-the-low-key-excellence-of-james-grays-two-lovers/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/behold-the-low-key-excellence-of-james-grays-two-lovers/Joaquin Phoenix's performance as a vulnerable, off-beat loner caught between two women sustains the film's melodrama.Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMTElissa Suhhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/take-a-walk-down-scarlet-street-the-sleaziest-noir-on-the-block/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/take-a-walk-down-scarlet-street-the-sleaziest-noir-on-the-block/Fritz Lang's nasty thriller will plunge you into a morass of disreputability, deception, and greed.Wed, 21 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMTGlenn Kennyhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/pieces-of-flare-on-david-finchers-the-killer/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/pieces-of-flare-on-david-finchers-the-killer/With his latest thriller, Fincher further develops his practice of digitally molding the real world in his own image.Thu, 08 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMTVadim Rizovhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-dumb-money-pigeon-tunnel/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-dumb-money-pigeon-tunnel/In Downtime's final TIFF dispatch, our humble correspondent reviews films about the GameStop short squeeze and John le Carré.Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-his-three-daughters-anatomy-of-a-fall/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-his-three-daughters-anatomy-of-a-fall/In Downtime's second TIFF dispatch, our humble correspondent reviews a Palme d'Or-winning legal thriller and a tearjerking family drama.Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-the-holdovers-hit-man/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-the-holdovers-hit-man/In Downtime's first TIFF dispatch, our humble correspondent reviews new crowd-pleasers from Alexander Payne and Richard Linklater.Wed, 13 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/with-sorcerer-the-late-william-friedkin-took-new-hollywood-on-one-last-bumpy-terrifying-ride/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/with-sorcerer-the-late-william-friedkin-took-new-hollywood-on-one-last-bumpy-terrifying-ride/Steamrolled by Star Wars, the director's grim follow-up to The Exorcist remains an intense highlight of '70s American moviemaking.Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTA.A. Dowdhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/joanna-hoggs-first-film-follows-an-isolated-woman-caught-between-generations/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/joanna-hoggs-first-film-follows-an-isolated-woman-caught-between-generations/Her fascination with the relationship between interior spaces and existential plight finds purchase in this vacation drama.Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTElissa Suhhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/a-woman-is-in-trouble-in-max-ophuls-modest-noir-masterpiece/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/a-woman-is-in-trouble-in-max-ophuls-modest-noir-masterpiece/The Reckless Moment stars Joan Bennett as a lonely heroine whose suburban American dream curdles into a nightmare.Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTGabrielle Marceauhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-essential-movie-about-the-donald-trump-age-is-an-ambiguous-south-korean-thriller/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-essential-movie-about-the-donald-trump-age-is-an-ambiguous-south-korean-thriller/Lee Chang-dong's Burning captures the conspiracy-laden paranoia and free-floating resentments that defined the last decade.Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMTA.A. Dowdhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/learn-about-yourself-by-watching-reality-tv-with-a-therapist/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/learn-about-yourself-by-watching-reality-tv-with-a-therapist/With his YouTube channel, Dr. Kirk Honda provides psychological commentary on Love Is Blind participants that emphasizes self-reflection.Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMTManuela Lazićhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/eros-in-retrograde-20-years-later-in-the-cut-still-has-it/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/eros-in-retrograde-20-years-later-in-the-cut-still-has-it/The cult erotic thriller not only provokes and unsettles, but also follows a genre truism: everyone is horny and no one can be trusted.Wed, 24 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTVeronica Fitzpatrickhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/all-grown-up-the-arrested-development-of-drop-dead-fred/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/all-grown-up-the-arrested-development-of-drop-dead-fred/The 1989 cult favorite works as a shorter, and possibly stranger, alternative to A24's splashy "Beau Is Afraid"Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTCaroline Golumhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/you-dont-have-to-win-robert-aldrich-and-all-the-marbles/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/you-dont-have-to-win-robert-aldrich-and-all-the-marbles/The great midcentury director's final film follows a female wrestling duo trying to eke out a victory on the road.Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTPatrick Preziosihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/downtime-harold-and-kumar-ultimate-stoner-movie-streaming-recommendations/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/downtime-harold-and-kumar-ultimate-stoner-movie-streaming-recommendations/In an age obsessed with representation, this unassuming mid-aughts comedy dared to portray Asian Americans as "people who exist."Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTJeremy Gordonhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/home-movie-35-shots-of-rum-remains-one-of-claire-denis-most-personal-works/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/home-movie-35-shots-of-rum-remains-one-of-claire-denis-most-personal-works/The story of a codependent father-and-daughter relationship pays tribute to the work of Yasujirō Ozu’ and Denis' own mother.Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMTMatthew Enghttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-brother-from-another-planet-reimagined-what-it-meant-to-be-lost-in-america/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-brother-from-another-planet-reimagined-what-it-meant-to-be-lost-in-america/In a decade defined by social and political alienation, John Sayles' lo-fi sci-fi adventure embraced spontaneous spiritual connections.Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTAdam Naymanhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/to-be-known-revisiting-the-quiet-romance-of-the-bridges-of-madison-county/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/to-be-known-revisiting-the-quiet-romance-of-the-bridges-of-madison-county/Clint Eastwood's 1995 romantic drama energizes the domestic space with the liberating possibility of life's freedoms.Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTCaitlin Quinlanhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/seconds-is-one-of-the-darkest-most-prescient-movies-of-the-60s/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/seconds-is-one-of-the-darkest-most-prescient-movies-of-the-60s/John Frankenheimer's head-trip points to a future filled with grifters falsely promising a better life.Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTDan Schindelhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/downtime-streaming-recommendations-strange-days-warned-that-the-end-is-near/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/downtime-streaming-recommendations-strange-days-warned-that-the-end-is-near/Kathryn Bigelow's 1995 cyberpunk thriller perfectly captures its moment while looking towards a more fraught future.Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTCharles Bramescohttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/luz-takes-possession-to-a-whole-other-level/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/luz-takes-possession-to-a-whole-other-level/This German supernatural horror film employs an outré sound design to convey the experience of hypnosis.Sat, 21 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMTMadeleine Wallhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/when-3-become-1-shapeshifting-in-robert-altmans-low-desert-dreamscape-3-women/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/when-3-become-1-shapeshifting-in-robert-altmans-low-desert-dreamscape-3-women/Altman's classic '70s psychological drama tackles gender as a Gothic team sport.Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMTSofia Majstorovichttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-savages-admirably-avoids-cliches-around-death-and-dying/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-savages-admirably-avoids-cliches-around-death-and-dying/At first glance, Tamara Jenkins' sophomore feature resembles a typical "Sundance film," but it's much thornier than typical indie fare.Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-future-is-now-on-the-hudsucker-proxy/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-future-is-now-on-the-hudsucker-proxy/The Coen Brothers' 1994 screwball comedy uses its heightened reality to tackle corporate greed and consumerist folly.Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTKent M. Wilhelmhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/ragged-generosity-exploring-the-films-of-boris-barnet/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/ragged-generosity-exploring-the-films-of-boris-barnet/The work of an unsung, but essential Soviet director is ripe for discovery via a YouTube channel.Fri, 09 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTPatrick Preziosihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-kingdom-exodus-is-twin-peaks-the-return-with-seasonal-affective-disorder/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-kingdom-exodus-is-twin-peaks-the-return-with-seasonal-affective-disorder/After a 25-year-long hiatus, Lars von Trier returns to the haunted hospital of his landmark supernatural miniseries.Fri, 25 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMTKatie Rifehttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/eat-the-rich-with-elaine-mays-lacerating-comedy-a-new-leaf/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/eat-the-rich-with-elaine-mays-lacerating-comedy-a-new-leaf/May's sharp satire of the wealthy refuses to pull any punches while also chronicling a sincere personal transformation.Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMTSophie Monks Kaufmanhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-classic-ramen-western-tampopo-will-make-you-rethink-how-you-eat/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-classic-ramen-western-tampopo-will-make-you-rethink-how-you-eat/Juzo Itami's freewheeling, genre-bending comedy turns cuisine into a meditation on craft and culture.Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMTDan Schindelhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-kids-are-alright-40-years-of-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-kids-are-alright-40-years-of-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high/Amy Heckerling's indelible debut feature captures early-80s adolescence in all of its complex glory, minus the judgement or sanctimony.Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMTElizabeth Nelsonhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/tin-men-is-barry-levinsons-best-baltimore-movie-and-a-cogent-critique-of-male-arrogance/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/tin-men-is-barry-levinsons-best-baltimore-movie-and-a-cogent-critique-of-male-arrogance/The second in Levinson's Baltimore tetralogy follows two aluminum siding salesmen whose rigid worldviews finally fall under a spotlight.Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTNoel Murrayhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-the-banshees-of-inisherin-godland/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-the-banshees-of-inisherin-godland/In his final dispatch, our humble correspondent reviews an Irish comedy of discontent and an Icelandic religious drama.Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-viking/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-viking/Our humble correspondent reviews an urgent environmental thriller and a Canadian existential space comedy.Thu, 15 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-the-fabelmans-glass-onion/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-the-fabelmans-glass-onion/Our humble correspondent reviews Steven Spielberg's coming-of-age memoir and the new Knives Out sequel.Tue, 13 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-triangle-of-sadness-moonage-daydream/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/toronto-international-film-festival-2022-triangle-of-sadness-moonage-daydream/In Downtime's first TIFF dispatch, our humble correspondent reviews a farcical satire of the super-rich and a collage-style David Bowie doc.Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTVikram Murthihttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/years-before-the-rise-of-fake-news-shattered-glass-threw-the-spotlight-on-a-serial-fabulist/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/years-before-the-rise-of-fake-news-shattered-glass-threw-the-spotlight-on-a-serial-fabulist/The rise and fall of Stephen Glass serves as a cautionary tale about the hesitancy of the media class to investigate their own.Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTA.A. Dowdhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/my-sex-life-or-how-i-got-into-an-argument-downtime-streaming-recommendation/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/my-sex-life-or-how-i-got-into-an-argument-downtime-streaming-recommendation/The essential post-New Wave comedy-drama follows an ensemble of restless Parisian academics falling in and out of careers and love.Wed, 10 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTGabrielle Marceauhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/give-yourself-away-like-the-sea-revisiting-the-sexy-downbeat-pleasures-of-y-tu-mama-tambien/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/give-yourself-away-like-the-sea-revisiting-the-sexy-downbeat-pleasures-of-y-tu-mama-tambien/Alfonso Cuarón's risqué road movie emphasizes sexual exploration as well as life's ephemeral natureWed, 03 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTChristina Newlandhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/dead-pixels-why-the-forgotten-cyberhorror-feardotcom-is-actually-worth-your-time/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/dead-pixels-why-the-forgotten-cyberhorror-feardotcom-is-actually-worth-your-time/Its trashy, fetishistic imagery and borderline dream logic are features, not bugs.Wed, 13 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTEthan Vestbyhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/reliquary-of-the-slacker-on-joel-potrykus-relaxer/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/reliquary-of-the-slacker-on-joel-potrykus-relaxer/Potrykus specializes in offbeat, regionally-focused portraits of post-Linklater slackers on the edges of 21st century society.Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMTDom Sinacolahttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/all-hands-on-deck-celebrates-the-pleasures-and-pitfalls-of-summer-risk-taking/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/all-hands-on-deck-celebrates-the-pleasures-and-pitfalls-of-summer-risk-taking/This charming Rohmerian comedy follows three buddies looking for love in the south of FranceFri, 17 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMTSusannah Gruderhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-wind-has-all-the-hallmarks-of-trashy-summer-fun-minus-the-outdoors/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-wind-has-all-the-hallmarks-of-trashy-summer-fun-minus-the-outdoors/Stay inside and avoid the heat with this zesty, shaggy psychological thriller.Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMTDanielle Burgoshttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-five-obstructions-allows-lars-von-triers-mentor-to-remake-his-best-known-film-five-different-ways/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/the-five-obstructions-allows-lars-von-triers-mentor-to-remake-his-best-known-film-five-different-ways/Von Trier's mentor Jørgen Leth must adhere to a different "obstruction" each time he remakes the filmFri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTJody Dvorakhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/whitey-on-the-moon-on-richard-linklaters-apollo-10-1-2/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/whitey-on-the-moon-on-richard-linklaters-apollo-10-1-2/The Boyhood director resurrects the past once again, but this time with a keen eye to present sensibilities.Fri, 13 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTVadim Rizovhttps://downtime.jambys.com/posts/tilda-swinton-gives-her-greatest-performance-in-julia-a-child-abduction-melodrama/https://downtime.jambys.com/posts/tilda-swinton-gives-her-greatest-performance-in-julia-a-child-abduction-melodrama/A year after winning the Oscar, Swinton stuns in her performance as a crazed alcoholic kidnapperFri, 06 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTMike D'Angelo