Directed by Atom Egoyan The Sweet Hereafter can be a gut wrenching film, as it should be considering the subject material. It's about the tormented people in a small town after a fatal accident involving a school bus full of children, and despite the obvious trauma of such a thing the film isn't as manipulative … Continue reading The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Goodfellas (1990)
Directed by Martin Scorsese Alright so we know the story, the rise and fall of Henry Hill from "I always wanted to be a gangster" to "I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook." It's a classic gangster story and even more than that an American story. You … Continue reading Goodfellas (1990)
The Guard (2011)
Directed by John Michael McDonagh The Guard is what Green Book wanted to be, weirdly enough. It's a murder mystery of sorts that quickly moves into the same action-comedy territory as another Brendan Gleeson film, 2008's In Bruges (directed by John Michael McDonagh's brother Martin). Within this the two central protagonists are the Irish Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) … Continue reading The Guard (2011)
The King (2019)
Directed by David Michôd The King has a little more life to it than I recall many of these kinds of medieval, historical dramas having. Maybe that's because the Robert Pattinson character is quite amusing or because the plot of the drama here feels relatively modern (even if a bit predictable). It's a story about power, … Continue reading The King (2019)
Frankie (2019)
Directed by Ira Sachs There's something very pleasant about Frankie. It's a relaxed story that takes place over the course of a single afternoon in a vacation town in Portugal, spread amongst a small ensemble of similarly relaxed but agitated individuals. They discuss the pivot points or possible pivot points in their lives, things like divorce, … Continue reading Frankie (2019)
The Castle (1997)
Directed by Michael Haneke The Castle is a bureaucratic, alienating nightmare based on an unfinished Franz Kafka novel. In it a man named K. arrives to a wintery, barren village with the promise that he is to be made the Land Surveyor. When he arrives no one knows of such arrangements and he is instead … Continue reading The Castle (1997)
Runaway Train (1985)
Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky In Runaway Train two convicts escape from prison and share the misfortune of hitching a ride on a train with no conductor. For Manny (Jon Voight) this is hardly his first escape attempt, instead just the most recent prison break into which he knows he was goaded by the prison warden, Ranken … Continue reading Runaway Train (1985)
Tell Me Who I Am (2019)
Directed by Ed Perkins Tell Me Who I Am is a gut-wrenching, at times frustrating documentary about a completely fascinating true story. It's the type of story a Netflix executive's dreams are made of, something that follows in the footsteps of other Netflix content like Making a Murderer, The Staircase or Evil Genius. And I find these stories … Continue reading Tell Me Who I Am (2019)
JoJo Rabbit (2019)
Directed by Taika Waititi Taika Waititi's movies have such an appealing innocence. His characters, often children, learn perhaps obvious but nevertheless valuable lessons, as is the case with most coming of age films, and I think his young, bold protagonists highlight something similar within all of us, albeit a confidence that has been battered and … Continue reading JoJo Rabbit (2019)
Yesterday (2019)
Directed by Danny Boyle Yesterday is remarkably delightful. It's a film with a simple premise that doesn't necessarily deliver on all the narrative promises of that premise, and yet it is just so likable because the performers themselves are so likable. Jack Malick (Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician with a loyal manager, Ellie (Lily … Continue reading Yesterday (2019)
