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Author Archives: Ross Birks
Straight to Hell (1987)
After Three Businessmen I decided to jump right into another Alex Cox movie and went for Straight to Hell. Now this thing is just pure entertainment. Mashing together a kaleidoscope of genres with a who’s who cast of celebrity faces … Continue reading
Medium Cool (1969)
While my tastes are much more tuned to controlled style and deliberate directorial choices, I can certainly appreciate and gape in awe at documentary realism when it is applied to fiction with real verve. Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool might be … Continue reading
Three Businessmen (1998)
I’ve been scratching into Alex Cox’s filmography over the past year or so and Three Businessmen is my latest stop. The thing I love about Cox is that his films are extremely strange and off-kilter and totally immersed in their … Continue reading
Torso (1973)
A pretty run-of-the-mill 70s Euro-slasher flick when looked at with wide eyes but squint hard enough and there are some pretty innovative sequences here and there. There’s an almost wordless section near the end featuring the heroine trapped in a … Continue reading
Absentia (2011)
As a huge fan of Mike Flanagan’s Oculus I figured I owed it to myself to check out his previous calling card film Abesentia. Famously funded through Kickstarter, it’s a great example of how crowdfunding can really pay off. The … Continue reading
Valhalla Rising (2009)
Valhalla Rising was described by Nicolas Winding Refn as the beginning of “phase two” of his career. To look at it on those terms really brings a lot into focus. Billed as a science-fiction viking movie, the film is stubbornly oblique … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2015, Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged mads mikkelsen, Nicolas Winding Refn, valhalla rising
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Zabriskie Point (1970)
Shot hot the heels of Blow-Up‘s international success, Michelangelo Antonioni flew out to the barren wastelands of Americana in 1968 to make Zabriskie Point which would ultimately be released in 1970 to damning reviews. Forty five years later and Zabriskie … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2015, Reviews
Tagged Michelangelo Antonioni, Zabriskie Point
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Gunplay – Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967)
Who’s That Knocking at My Door is really everything you’d want from a Scorsese debut. The film is a pencil sketch of so many ideas and concerns – both stylistically and thematically – that fascinate Scorsese even today. The movie … Continue reading
Media Diet 2015
January 1. Birdman (2014) 2. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012) 3. Big Hero 6 (2014) 4. Down to Earth (2001) 5. Force Majeure (2014) 6. Inherent Vice (2014) 7. Crooklyn (1994) 8. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five … Continue reading
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The Prom – Carrie (1976)
Whenever I try and put into words why I love Brian De Palma, I always seem to struggle. Much of De Palma’s appeal lies in his visual command. His ability to convey emotion and suspense with camerawork and editing is … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 