The kindest words I can summon about The Art of Racing in the Rain, Disney’s long-awaited adaptation of Garth Stein’s best-selling 2008 airport novel, is that it’s essentially harmless. It’s not a painful experience, and millions will love it unconditionally, as one loves a dog. To pile on about its turgid writing, its artless direction and its hokey, retrograde messaging … [Read more...]
Faith of the father, test of our time: Schrader’s powerful ‘First Reformed’
The setting for much of Paul Schrader’s First Reformed is a white Dutch Colonial church, simple and sturdy and indistinguishable from the thousands of similar structures that punctuate America’s hills and hollers, its exurbs and suburbs. The chapel, First Reformed in upstate New York, is situated near Abundant Life, a pyrotechnic megachurch with live-streamed sermons and … [Read more...]