To these eyes and ears, Andrew Dominik’s 2007 western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was one of the finest films of the last ten years. A stately, elegant piece of work, it quietly commanded respect and elevated Dominik into that higher tier of filmmakers who’s every subsequent work becomes noteworthy … Continue reading Review: Killing Them Softly
If you’re a horror enthusiast or audiophile of any serious pedigree, then Berberian Sound Studio would appear, on paper, to be right up your alley. Did you used to sit at home listening to BBC sound effects records? Can you list every significant giallo production in chronological order? Would you debate what counts as significant? If the answer to … Continue reading Review: Berberian Sound Studio
A cinema crowd sits comatose; lulled into sleep by whatever it is they’re being shown. Another humdrum movie. Whatever. The light plays on their closed eyes and moribund faces. In an upstairs room, Holy Motors’ director Leos Carax awakes, and, using a key that is part of his hand, opens a door in the wall. … Continue reading Review: Holy Motors
Year: 1975 Director: John Frankenheimer Stars: Gene Hackman (Det. James ‘Popeye’ Doyle), Fernando Rey (Charnier / ‘Frog 1’), Bernard Fresson (Det. Barthélémy), Cathleen Nesbitt (The Old Lady), Philippe Leotard (Jacques). Genre: Crime Thriller / Action / Drama Well, this is an unlikely candidate you might think. Why not William Friedkin’s classic original? The French Connection … Continue reading Why I Love… #30: French Connection 2
Lawless is a bloody and violent film, one which whole-heartedly earns its 18 certificate. Set in rural Virginia circa 1931, it proposes to tell the true story of the Bondurant boys, siblings dedicated to the production and transportation of moonshine, attempting to grow rich off of prohibition’s halcyon days, yet still living in abject squalor. … Continue reading Review: Lawless
Year: 1948 Director: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger Stars: Moira Shearer (Victoria Page), Marius Goring (Julian Craster), Anton Walbrook (Boris Lermontov), Robert Helpmann (Ivan Boleslawsky), Léonide Massine (Ljubov). Genre: Romance / Melodrama "Vicky. Little Vicky. There it is, all waiting for you..." I came to The Red Shoes a couple of years ago mainly because … Continue reading Why I Love… #29: The Red Shoes
Samsara is the latest project from Ron Fricke, documentary photographer extraordinaire who, 20 years ago, wowed certain circles with Baraka, a visual feast of globe-trotting beauty. Samsara looks to repeat that film’s success and audacity, as we take a world tour of life, death and everything in between, and not a word uttered. The difficulties … Continue reading Review: Samsara
Shadow Dancer, directed by James Marsh from Tom Bradby’s screenplay of his own novel, concerns an MI5 mole in Belfast in 1993. Peace was a subject tentatively being broached. An anticipatory time, if I recall. I myself was ten at the time. Growing up in the late eighties and nineties, talk of ‘the troubles’ was … Continue reading Review: Shadow Dancer
“I’ll see you at the party, Richter” God bless Schwarzenegger. To certain people of a certain age with a certain sensibility, the above is one of the great movie quotes of all time. Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, by no means a perfect film, was nonetheless a rip-roaring thrill ride of excess. Coming at the tail … Continue reading Review: Total Recall (2012)
