Directed by David Mamet Spartan really moves, almost right off the bat. It's an addicting kind of a movie, with Val Kilmer playing some version of 24's Jack Bauer, free and eager to bend the rules so that he might accomplish the mission in front of him. Scott (Kilmer) works for the Secret Service in some capacity, … Continue reading Spartan (2004)
Julieta (2016)
Directed by Pedro Almodovar In Julieta a mother grapples with the trauma of losing her daughter. We meet her first in the ‘present,’ where she puts a sudden end to a move from Madrid to Portugal when she sees Beatriz, her daughter’s childhood best friend. It’s seeing Beatriz which breaks the dam and floods back … Continue reading Julieta (2016)
Low Tide (2019)
Directed by Kevin McMullin Low Tide is a neat little coming of age thriller about a group of boys who find a bag of gold. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, by any means, but it’s entertaining and engrossing, telling a familiar story of the unrestrained yearning of a certain moment in your youth, with ideas … Continue reading Low Tide (2019)
Klute (1971)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula Klute works, but sometimes it feels like it shouldn't. It's an investigative thriller named for the investigating cop, John Klute (Donald Sutherland), but he's not even the main character. That would be Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), a call girl who serves as Klute's best bet to track down the man … Continue reading Klute (1971)
Joker (2019)
Directed by Todd Phillips Joker seems to be split among critics and fans. Critics are lukewarm at best, pointing out some of the unfair representations of mental illness and the way the film borrows a whole heck of a lot from Taxi Driver and King of Comedy (and maybe Nightcrawler too), but fans just seem to love it … Continue reading Joker (2019)
Presumed Innocent (1990)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula Presumed Innocent is a sultry, falsely-accused thriller with a whole bunch of attractive ugly people. It's the story of a prosecutor, Rusty (Harrison Ford), asked to investigate the brutal murder of a colleague, Carolyn (Greta Scacchi). It's not until later that we learn more about Rusty's relationship with Carolyn, when … Continue reading Presumed Innocent (1990)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis Back to the Future Part II moves lightning fast. It takes the premise of the first film, to travel in time to change just one thing, but then ramps it up by a factor of a hundred. Doc (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty (Michael J. Fox) travel not only to the future (2015), … Continue reading Back to the Future Part II (1989)
State and Main (2000)
Directed by David Mamet State and Main has the feeling of an old 1940s screwball comedy. The dialogue is lightning fast, the problems are telegraphed from a mile away but are no less entertaining, and there's even a charming romance and ethical dilemma at the heart of it. It's about the last week of preproduction for … Continue reading State and Main (2000)
Yella (2007)
Directed by Christian Petzold Yella takes place in some sort of limbo, much like Petzold's most recent film, Transit. These characters exist just outside of any recognizable time and place, and though there are signs indicating the existence of the real, recognizable world in Yella, our main character never feels a part of it. Yella lives in … Continue reading Yella (2007)
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
Directed by Randy Moore What's notable about Escape From Tomorrow is the story behind it. Long before it was released (until recently I wasn't even sure it was publicly available) the film was teased as something like cinematic punk rock. It was the story of people who made a feature length film in secret in Disneyland, … Continue reading Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
