Tag: improvisation

“The Class” Movie Review By Daniel Barnes

The Class (2008; Laurent Cantet) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes While Hollywood films are typically and predictably dismissive of school teachers (and all public servants, really) as pedants, snobs, fascists, and/or layabouts, there also exists a mostly icky vein of educator-as-hero stories. Movies ranging from Goodbye, Mr. Chips […]

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976; John Cassavetes) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes Like most of John Cassavetes’ movies, his meditative 1976 crime film The Killing of a Chinese Bookie opens on what appears to be a random moment.  When I watched Faces for the first time […]