Directed by John Carney The title to Once could mean a variety of things, but within the movie it seems to me to imply the simple change from saying "no" to everything to saying "yes" to just one thing and getting out of your own way. As I write this I'm in Dublin for the first time, … Continue reading Once (2007)

Directed by John Lee Hancock The Founder is a run of the mill rags to riches story that places a familiar story arc onto something recognizable, in this case McDonald's.  A lot of movies are made in this fashion, telling more or less the same story but in a difference circumstance, using names or things … Continue reading The Founder (2016)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola Rumble Fish has really grown on me in the day or two since I've seen it.  It's one of those films that at first feels a little too slow, like the methodical storytelling isn't having the impact it's meant to, and instead you're just waiting for something underwhelming to happen. … Continue reading Rumble Fish (1983)

Directed by Brian De Palma Blow Out feels pulpy in the way I imagine much of De Palma’s early work does.  I can only compare it to The Wedding Party and Sisters, the former of which was a kind of experimental, slapstick, beautiful mess, and the latter of which was similarly pulpy, a little deranged, … Continue reading Blow Out (1981)

Directed by Gregory Hoblit   I am not the write person to properly analyze and critique Frequency because I love it too much.  Like Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, it's probably one of those movies that is really not that good, but, again, I love it too much to really notice. The movie has, to me, a fantastic … Continue reading Frequency (2000)

Directed by Ridley Scott Prometheus is about origins and aliens and an android who is a little too human to function.  I saw Alien: Covenant before I saw this movie, so maybe that messes with how I perceive the two movies, but where I didn't much care for Covenant, I thought Prometheus was much better than I had … Continue reading Prometheus (2012)

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku I first heard of Battle Royale after The Hunger Games was released.  From what I understood, Battle Royale was the same as that latter movie but it didn't hold back quite so much.  And when you start watching this movie, there is a long warning upfront about the the upcoming violence, so I expected this … Continue reading Battle Royale (2000)

Directed by Barry Levinson There are two types of Robert De Niro performances, in my mind.  After years of playing hardened characters (Jake La Motta, Travis Bickle, The Kind of Comedy, gangsters in Goodfellas and Casino), older De Niro has played characters known for their comedy or even charm (Meet the Parents, Dirty Grandpa, The Intern).  These movies, all later … Continue reading The Wizard of Lies (2017)

Directed by Francois Truffaut Bed and Board is the sequel to The 400 Blows (1959), Antoine et Colette (1962) and Stolen Kisses (1970).  Each film follows Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) at different points in his life.  While The 400 Blows was fairly dramatic, showing a kid's tough home life and his intense desire to escape that life, the following two … Continue reading Bed and Board (1970)

Directed by Jordan Peele Get Out is certainly exciting.  It's not quite a horror movie, but it is.  It's more of a thriller and a combination of movies like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Stepford Wives and even a little body horror out of something like Tusk or maybe a movie a little more serious than Tusk (it's … Continue reading Get Out (2017)