Bark Gets Tied Up by Its Own Premise

In Bark, German director Marc Schölermann pushes the micro-genre's tradition of tight corners and a locked door into the outdoors—specifically a wide-open forest. Nolan Bentley (Michael Weston) wakes up with his hands tied behind a tree, his memories hazy, and his business suit attire decidedly not suited for the outdoors. Soon, an outdoorsman (A.J. Buckley) arrives, seemingly uninterested in either helping or harming Nolan.

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Ziah GraceComment
Peyton Reed’s Down With Love dials in on Renée Zellweger, ‘50s rom-coms, and the libido-reducing powers of chocolate

It’s got a little Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a little Austin Powers, and a lot of the Rock Hudson-Doris Day led rom-coms of the ‘50s, particularly Lover Come Back and Pillow Talk. The film’s influences are so clear it could be hard to see if it's giving viewers anything new, but Peyton Reed offers a homage to the greats of the genre’s past while poking fun at its historical gender politics and upending the status quo.

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Gabrielle SanchezComment
Bugs Bunny as Fine Art: The Golden Age of Animation

In days of yore, you'd go to see a movie, the lights would go down, and just before the feature presentation (if you were lucky) you'd get to watch a cartoon. The Golden Age of Animation was a renaissance of technical and artistic development, and without these artists foundational work you would never see the likes of Disney or Pixar or even Studio Ghibli.

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