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Author Archives: Ross Birks
Interiors (1978)
Interiors is infamous for being a severe left turn into Bergman-esque chamber-drama for Woody Allen following the widely acclaimed Annie Hall the year before. It’s the first movie he directed he doesn’t act in, is wholly serious, thematically heavy and shot by Gordon … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged 1978, Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Sam Waterson, Woody Allen
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Predator 2 (1990)
A lurid buffet of scraps and bad habits left over from the 80s jacked up and saturated like a crazy Frank Miller splash page. The cast makes it feel like Predator 2 unfolds in some kind of Richard Donner/James Cameron shared universe … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged 1990, Bill Paxton, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Robert Davi, Stephen Hopkins
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Cold Water (1994)
There’s a sequence slap bang in the middle of Cold Water that the rest of the film seems to huddle around like hands over a bonfire. It’s a sprawling house party, scored to a handful of pop songs – Credence, Dylan, Alice … Continue reading
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Tim Burton’s Nashville. Lovably zany, eye-poppingly colourful and animated by a pretty insane ensemble cast of 90s big hitters and Burton regulars. You even get two Jack Nicholsons for the price of one. I love all the throwback flourishes like the … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged 1996, Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Jack Black, Jack Nicholson, Lisa Marie, Martin Short, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tim Burton, Tom Jones
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The Craft (1996)
This movie is so 90s that Fairuza Balk isn’t even the most 90s thing about it. I love how it leans heavily into all that novelty shop wicca imagery with candles, pentagrams and the whole shebang. It was made at … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged 1996, Andrew Fleming, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Robin Tunney, Skeet Ulrich
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Death Wish 3 (1985)
By jettisoning the cruel streak that plagued the first two movies and instilling it with a heavy dosage of Cannon Films bombast, the Death Wish series finally delivers a flat-out good time with Death Wish 3. This is easily the funniest one so … Continue reading
Death Wish II (1982)
Even more preposterous, crueler and nastier than the first film, Death Wish II somehow manages to be better than its predecessor, or at least more enjoyable and memorable, by doubling down on Winner’s impulses to the point where the whole thing is … Continue reading
Panic in the Streets (1950)
Kazan always had a knack for discovering new talent. Here Jack Palance is the newcomer and he really does dominate a lot of the proceedings with brute force. He’s full of street-level machismo and his gigantic, unusual face makes for … Continue reading
Tagged 1950, Elia Kazan, Jack Palance, Richard Widmark
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Road to Perdition (2002)
Conrad Hall’s cinematography…jaw-dropping. The precision in the images and visual story is intoxicating. This is celluloid as ash, the grain glazing everything over in a frosty, funeral-like haze. It’s moody and painterly. A gangster B-pic as seen by Edward Hopper. … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged 2002, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Paul Newman, Sam mendes, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hanks
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Death Wish (1974)
As ugly and brutish as I had heard. Full of self-importance and humourless violence. Winner leans into the vigilante stuff with such pig-headed conviction that you rightfully suspect him of endorsing it. Bronson is solid though, merely along for the … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 