Blog — 3 Brothers Film

Review: Tesla (2020)

Director Michael Almereyda confronts the notion of objective biography head-on in his off-kilter biopic of Nikola Tesla, starring Ethan Hawke.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromNovember 25, 2020Tesla, Michael Almereyda, Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Hannah Gross, Josh Hamilton, Peter Greene Comment

Review: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Aaron Sorkin’s dramatic retelling of the famous show trial distorts history in order to champion blandly-liberal American values.

Review: The Way Back (2020)

Gavin O’Connor’s inspirational sports and addiction drama succeeds on the strength of Ben Affleck’s intimate performance.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromNovember 16, 2020The Way Back, Gavin O'Connor, Brad Ingelsby, Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar, Brandon WilsonComment

Review: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is the funniest film of the year and doubles down on the absurdity of 2020.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromNovember 13, 2020Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Borat, Jason Woliner, Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria BakalovaComment

Review: The Killers (1946)

Robert Siodmak’s noir classic is a stunning debut for Burt Lancaster and one of the most inventive short story adaptations ever.

Halloween Horror: Resolution (2012)

Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead’s slow-burn horror film plays like a low-budget, earnest counterpoint to The Cabin in the Woods.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 27, 2020Resolution, Halloween Horror, Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead, Peter Ciella, Vinny Curran, Zahn McClarnon, Bill Oberst JrComment

Halloween Horror: The Last House on the Left (1972)

Wes Craven’s controversial classic horror film uses unrefined formal techniques and realistic content to unsettle viewers and examine the horrors of bloodlust.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 21, 2020Halloween Horror, The Last House on the Left, Wes Craven, Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, March Sheffler, Eleanor Shaw, Richard Towers, Marshall Anker, Martin KoveComment

Planet in Focus 2020: Smog Town

Smog Town is an illuminating look behind the curtain of Chinese bureaucracy, but would be more effective if it were more compact.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromOctober 15, 2020Han Meng, Smog Town, Planet in Focus 2020Comment

Planet in Focus 2020: The Last Ice

The Last Ice is a useful primer for anyone wanting to understand the issues at stake in the Arctic.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromOctober 14, 2020The Last Ice, National Geographic, Scott Ressler, Arctic, InuitComment

Halloween Horror: Inferno (1980)

Dario Argento’s spiritual sequel to Suspiria is just as spectacularly moody as its predecessor, even if the narrative is slapdash.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 8, 2020Inferno, Dario Argento, Suspiria, Thomas de Quincey, Irene Miracle, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoëff, Alida Valli, Veronica LazarComment

Halloween Horror: The Fog (1980)

The Fog is a compelling mood piece, with atmospheric scares and great low-budget special effects.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 6, 2020John Carpenter, The Fog, Debra Hill, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook, Janet LeighComment

Halloween Horror: Black Sunday (1960)

Mario Bava’s official debut combines arthouse style and B-movie horror conventions to strong effect.

Review: The Social Dilemma (2020)

The Social Dilemma is hardly nuanced and its narrative dramatizations are lame, but it makes a compelling argument that social media is harming our culture.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromSeptember 24, 2020The Social Dilemma, Fyre, The Great Hack, Jeff Orlowski, Davis Coombe, Vickie Curtis, Skyler Gisondo, Kara Hayward, Vincent Kartheiser, NetflixComment

TIFF20: 76 Days

A fascinating, disorienting first-hand account of the Wuhan COVID-19 lockdown.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 18, 202076 Days, COVID-19, documentary, Hao Wu, Anonymous, Weixi ChenComment

TIFF20: Wolfwalkers

A beautifully animated adventure film that mines the many tensions between England and Ireland.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 17, 2020Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Will Collins, Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon McBurney, Wolfwalkers, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The BreadwinnerComment

TIFF20: Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds

Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer examine the scientific and spiritual meaning of meteorites in this joyful documentary.

Reviews, The Festival Circuit, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 14, 2020Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer, TIFF20, TIFFComment

Review: National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Like its predecessor, National Treasure: Book of Secrets is an exercise in nostalgic nationalism, but also a goofily entertaining adventure film.

Satoshi Kon: Paprika (2006)

Paprika coalesces Satoshi Kon’s vision of dreamwords, filmmaking, and artistic expression into one unified whole.

Flash Back, Reviews, Satoshi Kon, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromSeptember 4, 2020Paprika, Satoshi Kon, Satoshi Kon Retrospective, Seishi Minakami, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Furuya, Akio Otsuka, Koichi Yamadera, Hideyuki TanakaComment

Satoshi Kon: Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Tokyo Godfathers is about as close as you can get to a Charles Dickens Christmas adaptation apart from actually making a film based on A Christmas Carol.

Flash Back, Reviews, Satoshi Kon, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromAugust 31, 2020Satoshi Kon, Satoshi Kon Retrospective, Keiko Nobumoto, Toru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Tokyo GodfathersComment

Satoshi Kon: Millennium Actress (2001)

Millennium Actress is a beautiful examination of the relationships between actors and the movies they make, and viewers and the movies they watch.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Satoshi Kon, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromAugust 25, 2020Satoshi Kon Retrospective, Satoshi Kon, Millennium Actress, Sadayuki Murai, Miyoko Shoji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shozo Iizuka, Shoko Tsuda, Hirotaka Suzuoko, Hisako Kyoda, Koichi Yamadera, Masane TsukayamaComment