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Category Archives: Reviews
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
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
Star Time (1992)
A truly peculiar early 90s drone trip that unfurls with both jagged simplicity and abstract unpredictability. Star Time appears to be a serial killer movie, and it is that, but it’s also a strange satire on television consumer culture featuring a baby-faced suicidal teen … Continue reading
Mosaic (2018)
For Soderbergh nuts like myself I suppose the main thrill of Mosaic (which I saw in its episodic version and not through the intended app) is seeing how he stages, blocks and edits scenes to fit the hectic shooting schedule. Yes it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged 2018, Devin Ratray, Frederick Weller, Garrett Hedlund, Jennifer Ferrin, Sharon Stone, Steven Soderbergh
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Sleeping Dogs (1977)
Not just the movie that kickstarted the New Zealand filmmaking boom and gave the world Sam Neill, Sleeping Dogsis also a wildly entertaining and furiously political action flick which slowly morphs into a kiwi Rambo. Moves like a rollercoaster but rattles on … Continue reading
Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
A strange mash-up of guerilla-shooting-in-the-streets-of-70s-San Francisco with mild tinges of Manson family hippie paranoia and traditional, stiff vampire lore. Robert Quarry makes a meal out of the title role but this isn’t especially well paced or sharpened to deliver proper … Continue reading
American Beauty (1999)
Oh boy does a lot of this not hold up but that Conrad Hall lighting is still absolutely gorgeous. Very much a 1999 movie that I once considered one of the Greatest Movies of All Time. Sadly it established a … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Rewatch
Tagged 1999, Allison janey, Annette Bening, Chris Cooper, Kevin Spacey, Mena Suvari, Peter Gallagher, Sam mendes, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
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Julie & Julia (2009)
Sorry but Meryl Streep is great in this. Despite my early hesitance, I thought the traintracking of both stories worked very well too even if it set me up for a false ending. I assumed it was building to a … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 