Maria Dizzia | www.jaredmobarak.com

REVIEW: The Neighbors’ Window [2019]

2020/01/172020/03/21 Jared Mobarak

They need to order some drapes. Everyone wants for more and often for that which they cannot have. That’s when our desire grows largest because we remember what was, regret what wasn’t, and lament how that which we have might never be enough. This goes beyond careers or finances or location. I’m talking about love, family, and joy. Is that a silly thought to have when you’re married with three kids and comfortably situated within a life together that you built with intent and purpose? Sure. But it’s also very…

REVIEW: Depraved [2019]

2019/09/222020/03/24 Jared Mobarak

You brought the war home with you. So much of what we do in our lives comes down to a matter of could versus should. Many of us want to prove ourselves worthy by doing something nobody has ever done before, yet the hubris of such a desire often leaves us paying a price we neglected to realize had to be paid. Even if “should” factored in, however, the end result still wouldn’t be guaranteed because good intentions aren’t enough to offset that cost. Just because the pain and suffering…

REVIEW: While We’re Young [2015]

2015/04/162015/04/17 Jared Mobarak

“She is a mess. And an ugly eater.” I hated While We’re Young—a fact that actually increases my already healthy dose of respect for writer/director Noah Baumbach. He’s a filmmaker with the type of style, tone, and air of not quite tongue-in-cheek pretension you could pick out from across the room as his and his alone. Sometimes it’s good (Greenberg) or downright perfection (The Squid and the Whale and Frances Ha). Other times it makes me so mad I could scream (Margot at the Wedding). Here’s the thing, though: they…

REVIEW: Down the Shore [2013]

2013/04/012013/07/18 Jared Mobarak

“And the hero gets the girl, right?” After a longtime career as acting coach for the likes of Jet Li, Harold Guskin heads behind the camera for his directorial debut Down the Shore with the help of a contemporary acting giant at its lead. For James Gandolfini, life after “The Sopranos” has seen moderate success in roles not too far removed from his iconic Tony besides a much heavier infusion of comedy. In that vein, his boisterous, crude, and psychologically tormented assassin in Killing Them Softly showed a softer side…