Top Ten Films of 2015: Where emotions run high

I have no problem saying 2015 was a great year for cinema. Putting together a Top Ten was difficult at every turn—both because each time I had to do so meant I had seen more films and as a result of my preferences constantly changing. There are more than a few from 11-20 that easily could be Top Ten candidates on a different day. Sadly for them that day isn’t today. Happily for us: the art’s level of quality was good enough to cause such problems. Rules: eligible feature-length films…

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REVIEW: Meru [2015]

“The best alpinists are the ones with the worst memory” You have to be a little bit crazy to mountain climb. If I didn’t know from experience, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi‘s documentary Meru definitely explains why. I draw the line at hiking, so while I’ve summited Mt. Algonquin and Mt. Adams, I’ll never have the confidence or desire to go for Denali or Everest where hand-over-hand scaling, ice picks, or carabiners are involved. I leave that to my friends and enjoy their photos from afar. So to see…

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