See cinema differently
Director: John Michael McDonagh Stars: Kelly Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Isaach de Bankolé Calvary is John Michael McDonagh's second film with Brendan Gleeson following 2011's modest cult hit comedy The Guard. The reunion is a welcome one, and it's heartening to see McDonagh maturing - good as The Guard was, this is certainly a superior offering - though fans …
Director: Richard Aoyade Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Jesse Eisenberg, Wallace Shawn Influence hangs heavy in the air in Richard Aoyade's darkly comic second feature The Double. An adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novella, it tells the tale of one man, Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), who feels invisible within a hermetically sealed world. He is but a gear in a great, …
Director: Jonathan Glazer Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Pearson, Jeremy McWilliams Jonathan Glazer made a name for himself in the 90s with music videos for the likes of Radiohead and Massive Attack, before directing Sexy Beast and Birth. Both of those features were distinctive; the former for its standout performance from Ben Kingsley, the latter for its pronounced …
Director: Claire Denis Stars: Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Lola Créton Playing in a quagmire of murk, both visual and structural, the new film by Claire Denis fleetingly suggests a number of somewhat provocative, interesting ideas but ultimately takes the lot of them and chucks them in the river like a sack of unwanted kittens. It's …
Director: Jim Jarmusch Stars: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska With the possible exception of Harmony Korine, Jim Jarmusch is about as hipster as American independent cinema gets. It's a shame that this carries such a negative connotation, as the man has made some great films over his career, yet they have remained doggedly under …
Year: 2007 Director: Andrew Dominik Stars: Brad Pitt (Jesse James), Casey Affleck (Robert Ford), Sam Rockwell (Charley Ford), Sam Shepard (Frank James), Jeremy Renner (Wood Hite), Paul Schneider (Dick Liddil), Garret Dillahunt (Ed Miller), Mary Louise Parker (Zee James) Genre: Western With my local cinemas stuck in a loop giving victory laps to the big …
Continue reading "Why I Love… #65: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Year: 1985 Director: Larry Cohen Stars: Michael Moriarty (David 'Mo' Rutherford), Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole), Garrett Morris ('Chocolate Chip' Charlie), Scott Bloom (Jason), Paul Sorvino (Col. Spears) Genre: Horror / Comedy / Science Fiction In less than 2 minutes and before any credits have rolled, Larry Cohen's superb 80s 'B-picture' The Stuff announces its shrewd, prescient ethos. During …
Director: Wes Anderson Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest film from that gentleman of American cinema Wes Anderson. His is the dapper sensibility that has previously brought us the immense pleasures of Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and most recently the popular Moonrise Kingdom. Of all of the auteurs presently …
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Stars: Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Chris Pratt On paper I should be against something like this. Product placement in movies is - almost always - the form's artistic nadir. Intrusive, unwanted, soulless and often downright irritating, it pollutes the medium and at its most invasive (I, Robot or Wreck-It Ralph) does …
The Lost Highway Hotel 