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Category Archives: Reviews
Torso (1973)
Torso is even better the second time around. Martino really commits to making a movie about sexual violence and as is often the case with the genre, there’s a lot of female flesh on show, especially in the murder sequences. It … Continue reading
Last Embrace (1979)
Jonathan Demme’s take on the Hitchcock thriller is enjoyable enough and moves with a 90-minute swiftness. Roy Scheider is one of the best actors the 70s blessed us with and it’s fun to see him play a conflicted, cookie-cutter hero. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Christopher Walken, Jonathan Demme, Last Embrace, Roy Scheider
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The Headspace of a Holocaust Survivor: The Pawnbroker (1964)
Sidney Lumet made a lot of movies in his lifetime, many of them are regarded as classics while others, like The Pawnbroker, have become hidden gems waiting to be unearthed by subsequent generations of filmgoers. The film follows Sol Nazerman (Rod … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Rod Steiger, Sidney Lumet, The Pawnbroker
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Cut to the Chase: Midnight Special (2016)
While watching Midnight Special, I suspected that Jeff Nichols wrote an action-packed sci-fi/road movie then decided to completely jettison the first two acts and expand the last third to feature length. He deliberately eschews character set-up and plot context in favour … Continue reading
Culloden (1964)
A blistering combination of drama and documentary techniques that Peter Watkins practically pioneered. I’m struck by how groundbreaking Watkins approach feels. What an inspired way to present this topic and make it resonate with and be relevant for modern audiences, … Continue reading
Fool for Love (1985)
I recently read Sam Shepard’s play Fool for Love so figured it’s as good as time as any to finally check this one off the old Robert Altman watchlist. Fool for Love is just one of many stage-to-screen adaptations Altman made in the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Fool for Love, Harry Dean Stanton, Kim Basinger, Rand Quaid, robert altman, Sam Shepard
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Murder on the Orient Express (1974) or: How Albert Finney Can Save Your Movie
A great case-study in how one great performance can make a movie worthwhile. Murder on the Orient Express is exquisitely constructed. Director Sidney Lumet handles the sprawling cast with ease and constantly fills the frame with lush period-detail. It’s as glitz and … Continue reading
Mysterious Object at Noon (2000)
A stunning, form-defying debut from Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His use of the “exquisite corpse” technique to build an ever-evolving storyline is wonderful. The film’s combination of fictional off-shoots and personal testimonials from genuine faces really makes it a unique viewing experience, … Continue reading
Symptoms (1974)
A very atmospheric and textured (mmm that grainy 35mm photography) slice of British gothic filmmaking from 1974. This movie represented the UK at Cannes back in the day before disappearing into almost total obscurity. Symptoms has finally been rediscovered with the BFI … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Angela Pleasance, Jose Ramon Larraz, Symptoms
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The Zero Boys (1986)
My second trip into Mastorakis land following Island of Death last year. I’ve thought about that movie way more than I expected to since first seeing it so of-course I’m going to give The Zero Boys a go. This is a silly movie, but … Continue reading
Posted in Arrow Films, Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Kelli Maroney, Nico Mastorakis, The Zero Boys
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"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 