As is often the case with English-language remakes, “Downhill” ends up smoothing out the rough edges of the source material, removing some of the potent ambiguity at the heart of the original’s examination of masculinity, family dynamics, and gender roles.
Adam Lubitow
Film critic for CITY Newspaper, writer, iced coffee addict, and dinosaur enthusiast.
Posted inMovies
Film preview: ‘Color Out of Space’
An adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft short story, “Color Out of Space” centers on the Gardner family, who’ve recently relocated from the city to a remote farmhouse in rural Massachusetts. With its mix of straight-up horror, gooey makeup effects, and performances that dance along the edges of camp, the film is the platonic ideal of a midnight movie.
Posted inMovies
The 7th Annual Lubies
Now entering their seventh year, The Lubies are CITY’s rambunctious Oscar alternative, bestowing the highly sought after Golden Everything Burrito upon the films, performances, and trends that made the biggest impression over this past year.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
FILM | Black Cinema Series
A partnership between The Little Theatre and the Rochester Association of Black Journalists, the Black Cinema Series is an ongoing monthly film series celebrating both documentary and narrative forms of black cinema from around the world. In honor of Black History Month, the series will double up in February with two film screenings and post-film […]
Posted inMovies
Film review: ‘Clemency’
Alfre Woodard gives a phenomenal performance as a prison warden grappling with the emotional and psychological toll of carrying out death row executions in Chinonye Chukwu’s sobering and provocative drama.
Posted inMovies
Good things, small packages
Opening this week are the Oscar Nominated Shorts Programs, the popular annual showcase of the animated, live-action, and documentary short films nominated for an Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards.
Posted inMovies
Whatchagonna do?
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back at it in “Bad Boys for Life.” The “Bad Boys” films had something of a fascistic streak, with a celebration of police brutality, militarization, and misanthropic cruelty played for laughs.
Posted inMovies
92nd Academy Awards nominations
The Academy Awards nominations are out. Adam analyzes the nods: this year only narrowly escaped being another #OscarsSoWhite situation, and women filmmakers were entirely snubbed for the directorial award.
Posted inMovies
Hidden depths
Based on true events, Terrence Malick’s sweeping period drama “A Hidden Life” tells the story of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector during World War II who refused to swear loyalty to Hitler or fight for the Nazis.
Posted inMovies
Film review: ‘Little Women’
Greta Gerwig’s film distinguishes itself from countless iterations of the novel with a work that delivers a supremely faithful adaptation while also offering a fresh, creative perspective on the material.
Posted inMovies
Along for the ride
World War I epic “1917” is an astonishing feat of filmmaking: exciting, impeccably crafted, gorgeously shot, and well-performed by its cast. But in many ways it feels like the prestige picture equivalent of a thrill ride experience.
