Jonathan Roche Author

Isabelle Huppert Collaborates with Michael Haneke in “Happy End”

There is a brutality to Michael Haneke’s films. It is often literal but it can sometimes be most scathing when more opaque. The best example is his 2012 Oscar winning Amour, in...

The AIDS Crisis Overseas Depicted in a New Film, “BPM”

BPM begins in a lecture room full of passionate young French men and women loudly discussing (and reliving) the efficacy of their most recent fake blood-flinging protest, while...

Oscar Talk Swirls Around a New Movie Romance: “Call Me By Your Name”

Come away to the bucolic Italian countryside of 1983, where a young man’s world is budding with discovery and desire....

“Last Flag Flying” Creates a Cinematic Veteran’s Tribute

As with many of Richard Linklater’s films, Last Flag Flying would be hard not to like. I’d even go so far as to say that this broadly appealing film might even have the...

“Thelma” Full of Cinematic Same Sex Attraction and Intrigue

Thelma opens on a little girl and her father walking through a snowy Norwegian wilderness. When they come upon a deer, the little girl stares transfixed while her father raises...

All Roads Lead Inward in Director Haynes’ “Wonderstruck”

Director Todd Haynes (Carol), A father of American gay cinema, works his particular brand of cinematic magic again in Wonderstruck....

Surveillance Video: A Gay Drama Called “Nobody’s Watching”

A well-known quote tells us to “Dance like no one is watching,” but nobody watching is a real problem for Nico — an out-of-work actor who wishes anybody was watching....

Crossdressing Latino Singer Chavela Profiled in New Biopic

You may never have heard of Chavela Vargas, but if you see this film you’re unlikely to ever forget her. Born in 1919, Chavela left Costa Rica as a teenager bound for Mexico...

Handpainted “Loving Vincent” Is a Film Feast for the Eyes

This visually unique motion picture employs the dreamlike “rotoscope” technique in which animation is traced over live motion picture footage, as seen in some of Richard...

“Good Time”: A Beautifully-Orchestrated Bit of Chaos

Filmmaking brothers Josh and Benny Safdie follow their epically gritty film about junkies on the streets of New York (Heaven Knows What) with a return to the dark city streets in...

A Brooklyn Bad Boy Wants It Both Ways in “Beach Rats”

Frankie (pictured, center) is noticeably smart and obviously handsome, but he’s aimless: his main occupation seems to be kicking around Coney Island with his buddies like a pack...

There Are No Small Parts or Actors in Tom of Finland Biopic

Even ardent fans of Tom of Finland might wonder whether his life story could possibly rival the allure of his famously bulging gay erotica. It most surely does. The film begins...