Year: 1953 Director: Howard Hawks Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn As 2017 turns into 2018, why would fondly remembering a movie as wildly outdated as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes prove worthwhile? Perhaps because cinema history is exactly that; a history. Art is always a product of its time and thus Gentlemen Prefer Blondes should be … Continue reading Why I Love… #90: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Year: 1992 Director: Tim Burton Stars: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer In 1992 Tim Burton was in the midst of the greatest creative run of his career. 1988's Beetlejuice had been embraced for its wild comic fantasy and daring surreal imagery. That film also cemented a collaborative run with actor Michael Keaton who was proving himself … Continue reading Why I Love #89: Batman Returns
Director: Trish Sie Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow There's a moment during the obligatory mid-film montage in Pitch Perfect 3 in which director Trish Sie openly recalls the musical number geometry of Busby Berkeley in the 1930s. It's a fond cine-literate homage that lifts up this sprightly paced collage of passing time, yet it … Continue reading Review: Pitch Perfect 3
The top ten Certain WomenThe Florida ProjectRawMoonlightJackieCall Me By Your NameGet OutThe Killing Of A Sacred DeerThe HandmaidenToni Erdmann Film Of The YearCertain Women "All three stories find Reichardt offering us women trying to progress with their lives in the face of absurdity. The tempo is steady and one can readily imagine a thousand other … Continue reading The Best of 2017
Director: Rian Johnson Stars: Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver J.J. Abrams may take his expected executive producer credit on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but he never could have made it. This despite the movie opening with one of his trademark lens flares. No, this is Rian Johnson's film through and through. It's wantonly idiosyncratic, … Continue reading Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Director: Aaron Sorkin Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera For those not previously acquainted with the life and (mis)deeds of Molly Bloom there are two main draws to this new film, which seems intent on slipping out unnoticed in the shadow of Star Wars. Firstly, the acting clout of Jessica Chastain, comfortably one of the … Continue reading Review: Molly’s Game
Director: Jake Kasdan Stars: Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black 21 years after Joe Johnston's crowd-pleasing family film, was anybody actually asking for this? Belated sequels can be desperate cash-cows, especially those targeted to festive markets (Bad Santa 2 anyone?). Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is set at Christmas, though you wouldn't know it for approximately … Continue reading Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Director: James Franco Stars: James Franco, Alison Brie, Dave Franco "I did not hit her. It's not true. It's bullshit. I did not hit her. I did not. Oh hi Mark." For some the above stream of nonsense will appear as exactly that and have no relevance. For others (disclosure: myself wholeheartedly included) these words … Continue reading Review: The Disaster Artist
