Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw

The Grand Budapest Hotel may not be Wes Anderson at his deepestnew

As fascinating — and maddening — as it can be watching the arguments that emerge between the fans and detractors of any given filmmaker, it can be almost more fascinating watching fans argue amongst themselves.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 03-19-2014 | Reviews

The best of Sundance 2014 didn't take their subjects too seriouslynew

For 11 days in Utah's mountains in January, not a flake of precipitation fell on the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. And the cheery blue skies could not possibly have been a better match for the mood of the festival's best films.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 01-29-2014 | Movies

Killing Them Softly is a hitman allegory about the Great Recessionnew

Killing Them Softly, the new crime caper thriller from writer/director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford), is set in 2008, during the height of the panic over the U.S. financial collapse and the run-up to Barack Obama's election. I mention this because you might miss that crucial bit of subtext if you're not paying close attention to the excerpts from Obama's election-night speech that are included during the jaggedly edited opening sequence. Or during the centerpiece heist sequence. Or five minutes later when someone has the car radio on. Or pretty much every time anyone in this movie is listening to a radio or watching a television.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 11-28-2012 | Reviews

Tags: Killing Them Softly

The Mechanics of Time Travel Sren't Really the Point of Loopernew

Pay attention to Rian Johnson, because he's trying to tell his audience how to watch his deliriously effective science-fiction thriller Looper. He does it when Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)—a hired killer in the year 2044 whose job it is to slay people sent back from 30 years in the futur—talks to his crime lord boss, Abe (Jeff Daniels).

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 09-26-2012 | Reviews

Tags: Rian Johnson, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, time travel

One powerful relationship fuels the extraordinary The Masternew

Is The Master—Paul Thomas Anderson's hauntingly intimate epic—about Scientology? That's been the focus of attention for many with only peripheral interest in the film itself, hoping perhaps for some kind of searing roman-a-clef take-down of L. Ron Hubbard and his movement.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 09-19-2012 | Reviews

Tags: Paul Thomas Anderson, Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Is Joaquin Phoenix Really Crazy or Just Pretending?new

At the outset of I'm Still Here, Joaquin Phoenix laments, "I don't want to play the character of Joaquin." And cue the wry laughter from knowing viewers.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 09-15-2010 | Reviews

Tags: I'm Still Here, Casey Affleck

It Is Not an Excellent Day for an Exorcismnew

When The Blair Witch Project became an out-of-nowhere phenomenon more than a decade ago, one of the most startling developments was how few attempts there were to rip it off.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 09-08-2010 | Reviews

Tags: Daniel Stamm, The Last Exorcism

Going the Distance Looks to an Outdated Romantic Comedy Formulanew

I'll have what they're having.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 09-07-2010 | Reviews

Tags: Going the Distance, Nanette Burstein

Scott Pilgrim captures its source material's energy, but not its soulnew

In Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's cult-favorite Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, the visuals pop with jagged panel-break split-screens and straight-outta-Batman on-screen sound effects.

Charleston City Paper | Scott Renshaw | 08-12-2010 | Reviews

Tags: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Scott Pilgram vs The World