The Best Films of the The Decade: The Revenant

Posted: April 21, 2020 at 5:16 PM in Mark Whelan Best of the Decade
Best Of The Decade The Revenant (2015) Accessible text version below: T H E R E V E N A N T If you walk into The Revenant ( 2015) expecting an historically accurate rendition of real-life pioneer Hugh Glass you will be disappointed. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s broad adaptation of that specific source material (yet … [Read More]

Hereditary & Tag

Posted: April 15, 2020 at 3:27 PM in Mark Whelan Film Picks and Essays
Hereditary (2018) [127m] D: Ari Aster. C: Tony Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd. Grief-stricken by the demise of her mother, Collette contends not only in mourning but also grappling demons forwarded to her by family of which there is a history of mental illness. Coincidentally, supernatural happenings begin to disclose centering … [Read More]

2019 Library Movie Collection Essay

Posted: April 15, 2020 at 3:03 PM in Mark Whelan Film Picks and Essays
In the earlier part of the 1990s, when video cassettes finally became available for circulation at the Decorah Public Library, it was a modest assortment mostly comprised of NOVA educational features. They were safely stashed behind the circulation desk and fitted with clamshell cases. This preceded any computer cataloging system, therefore obtainability of films was … [Read More]

Burning & Paradise Now

Posted: April 15, 2020 at 2:43 PM in Mark Whelan Film Picks and Essays
Burning (2018) [148m] D: Chang-dong Lee. C: Ah-in Yoo, Steven Yeun, Jong-seo Jun, Soo-Kyung Kim. Darkly ethereal thriller casts Yoo as hapless youth smitten by an aspiring dancer (Jun). His obsession for her deepens after she introduces him to a handsome aristocrat (Yeun) who appears to have the upper hand, yet holds a troubling secret. … [Read More]

The Best Films of the Decade 2010-2020 by Mark Whelan: Introduction

Posted: April 13, 2020 at 3:20 PM in Mark Whelan Best of the Decade
When James Cameron‘s Avatar smashed into cinemas in late 2009, its immediate success promised a new era in motion pictures: a third dimension. This wasn‘t an antiquated novelty of red and blue shaded lenses, but a technological leap ushering in a revolutionary and exciting way to experience moviegoing. However, try as it might, that evolutionary … [Read More]