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2 months ago | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” — based on the semi-autobiographical 1985 novel of the same name by William Burroughs — is tender, horrifying and deliberate, with a perplexing sense of loneliness and desire. “Queer” is the antithesis to Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” released less than a year ago. In that film, Guadagnino heightens the melodrama of a love triangle among tennis stars to operatic territory. Want to go?
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Jan 19, 2025 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
When we come to the end of our days, what will we remember? In our last gasp, will the truth of our lives — of the memories we made, both of real life and fantasy — remain relevant? That’s at the heart of Paul Schrader’s new film, “Oh, Canada,” based on Russell Banks novel, “Foregone,” about a draft-dodging young man, Leonard (Richard Gere), turned award-winning Canadian documentarian, now dying of cancer, giving his final interview to former students.
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
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Dec 1, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
Ridley Scott will still be directing a film on his deathbed. At 86 years old, he leaves directors half his age in the dust, having helmed eight of his 29 feature films in the last decade. They are complex, intricate films with enormous budgets and ensemble casts that would prove a logistical nightmare for other directors. Scott, however, directs like a man possessed, as if nothing else mattered. The original “Gladiator,” released in 2000, had a tumultuous production.
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Nov 24, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
The greatest weapon in all of cinema — and the world as well — is the spoken word. In bad faith, it can be weaponized. Wars have begun because words turned decent people into mindless zealots. In the hands of a charismatic madman, they are more dangerous than the most powerful explosive. “Heretic,” which sees Hugh Grant (as Mr. Reed) in the performance of his career, is all about the weaponization of language. He’s a charming and self-deprecating know-it-all.
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Nov 24, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
The greatest weapon in all of cinema — and the world as well — is the spoken word. In bad faith, it can be weaponized. Wars have begun because words turned decent people into mindless zealots. In the hands of a charismatic madman, they are more dangerous than the most powerful explosive. Mr. Reed’s actions are irredeemable, even if the logic behind them is sound — like a scientist dutifully studying the behavior of a colony of insects trapped in a terrarium.
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
It’s telling that the closing text of Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, “Woman of the Hour,” which fills in the details that Kendrick’s movie sidesteps about serial killer Rodney Alcala, is more interesting than the film that preceded it. Kendrick’s film is obvious and slick, and a disjointed mess. Known as the “Dating Game Killer,” Rodney Alcala was a convicted serial killer linked to eight murders, though the actual number of victims could be as high as 130, the postscript tells us.
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Nov 10, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
One of the great joys of the theatrical experience is going into a film blind, with only the faintest knowledge of what the film is about. I had only seen the poster image of Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson side by side before taking my seat to watch Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man.” Two hours later, I emerged thrilled by the ingenuity and daring of the film.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
If you’re looking for an engrossing, low-key conspiracy thriller for adults seeking entertainment in the barren multiplex landscape populated with cartoon remakes and superhero fluff, “Conclave” might satisfy. The film places audiences inside the Vatican during the election process of a new pope. Squabbling, backstabbing and treachery abounds. To say the film is timely — in the leadup to the 2024 election — is an understatement.
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Oct 20, 2024 | 
wvgazettemail.com | Joshua Christopher Hill
With half a century of novels, and nearly as many years of big and small screen adaptations, Stephen King is a genre unto himself. Reading one of his novels or watching a film or television adaptation is like covering up with a warm blanket on a cold winter day. The small-town New England setting and relatable characters believe the macabre workings bubbling under the surface.
