Directed by Robert Altman In McCabe and Mrs. Miller, John McCabe (Warren Beatty) and Constance Miller (Julie Christie) as well as Mrs. Miller's prostitutes are effectively the first family of Bearpaw (somewhere in Washington), but I never found them all that interesting. McCabe is a businessman who builds a saloon and then tries to open a brothel, … Continue reading McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Directed by Spike Lee I don't know if I know how to properly discuss this movie, but that thought right there is probably a little reductive towards the film.  On the surface it's about tense race relations in a small neighborhood in New York.  There are a lot of words and insults said that I … Continue reading Do The Right Thing (1989)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez El Mariachi was made for $7,000 when Rodriguez was only 23 years old.  He chronicles the making of this film in a book I read four or so years ago.  It was the most inspirational thing I had read at that time.  I was 21 years old and washing dishes in … Continue reading El Mariachi (1992)

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich Everything in Paper Moon boils down to negotiations.  When Moses (Ryan O'Neal) casually drops by a funeral for an old flame, he expects to get the hell out of there almost immediately.  The problem is that the deceased woman has a daughter, Addie (Tatum O'Neal), and no one deems themselves fit to … Continue reading Paper Moon (1973)

Directed by Noah Baumbach The Squid and the Whale begins with a family splitting up and taking sides.  From the very start, the story is antagonistic, and the family is at odds with itself.  Bernard and Joan Berkman (Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney) are on the verge of a divorce, and their two children, Walt and Frank … Continue reading The Squid and The Whale (2005)

Directed by Louis Malle In Elevator to the Gallows, Julien, the protagonist, spends almost the entire film stuck in an elevator.  It's a jarring move for the story because everything looks like it's just getting started.  Really, the first sequence of the film, leading to Julien Tavernier's temporary imprisonment, feels like it should be the end … Continue reading Elevator to the Gallows (1958)

Directed by Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese has said (according to IMDB trivia) that this movie has no plot, and though a lot happens, I can see what he's saying.  Everything in this movie is fairly predictable (both the rise and the fall) but that doesn't make it any less interesting.  Having already seen Goodfellas, I had … Continue reading Casino (1995)

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich I didn't know that What's Up, Doc? was filmed in San Francisco.  I live near San Francisco, and anytime I see the city onscreen I become obsessed with determining the shooting locations of any given scene.  I even felt like I couldn't concentrate and was having a slight panic attack when I … Continue reading What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

Directed by Alexander Payne Election, like several Alexander Payne movies, follows a fidgety, petty protagonist who causes his own problems.  Like Warren Schmidt in About Schmidt, Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) isn't satisfied with his life.  When we meet him through an extended voiceover (like with several other characters) he claims to be extremely happy with his … Continue reading Election (1999)

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg The Celebration begins with an image of the Dogme 95 manifesto, declaring a vow to make films centered around story, theme and the performances and less around extraneous technology.  This meant all lighting had to be natural to the environment and all sound had to be diegetic (recorded while recording and not … Continue reading The Celebration (1998)