Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard likes to innovate.  His films challenged preconceived notions of what films were and how they could work, and his films were described as anarchic.  If a movie is meant to deliver catharsis, then he would do the opposite.  Breathless ends with our hero shot dead in the street, the … Continue reading Tout va bien (1972)

Directed by James Gray Two Lovers almost feels too predictable.  It's a love story that's not too concerned with the plot points, but maybe that's giving the story too much credit.  I guess what I can say is that I found Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) much more interesting than the type of character you'd expect to … Continue reading Two Lovers (2008)

Directed by Nicholas Ray Bigger Than Life feels like Reefer Madness.  It's a story about a family man's psychosis brought on by the drug cortisone.  Ed Avery (James Mason) is the picture-perfect family man in small town America.  He's a school teacher with a loving wife and son, and we're shown just how strong those bonds … Continue reading Bigger Than Life (1956)

Directed by Sam Peckinpah The Wild Bunch is a long western more like modern action movies than any other western from this time period I've seen.  It's alternately very slow and very fast, the quiet conversations lasting a little too long, followed by massacres that seem to have 100 cuts a minute.  It's like a … Continue reading The Wild Bunch (1969)

Directed by David Cronenberg I think Cronenberg's message can get lost in the style of his films.  Well, I shouldn't say style as much as the visual gore in works like this one, Scanners and The Fly.  His films leave you with a much more visceral feeling.  You know his film works when it makes your skin … Continue reading The Brood (1979)

Directed by Brian De Palma At this point in his career, three of Nicolas Cage's previous four films involved: a group of ex-military men threatening to release nerve gas in San Francisco, a flight in which prisoners hijack the plane and a man switching faces with his mortal enemy. Cage, in other words, is coming … Continue reading Snake Eyes (1998)

Directed by Robert Bresson L'argent was the final film made by French director Robert Bresson.  He was 82 at the time of its release, and the film bears a lot of similarities to his most celebrated film, 1959's Pickpocket.  The earlier film was made at the start of the French New Wave movement, a time when … Continue reading L’argent (1983)

Directed by the Coen Brothers Blood Simple is like the thesis of the Coen Brothers' filmography.  It's a dark comedy about murder and characters in over their heads.  The film ends with a woman shooting dead a man who is not the man she thinks he is.  These are people who get themselves into trouble … Continue reading Blood Simple (1984)

Directed by David Cronenberg The Dead Zone has no sense of urgency.  It's a story about a guy, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) who falls into a come for five years, then wakes up with psychic powers, able to see visions of the past, present and future.  After we establish his powers, we're left without a … Continue reading The Dead Zone (1983)

Directed by Jacques Tati Watching Playtime is like playing a two hour game of Where's Waldo?  The sets are big, the shots are wide, and Jacques Tati hated close ups, so the shots stay wide for long periods of time.  Instead of close ups or cross-cutting, Tati used sound to draw your attention to a particular … Continue reading Playtime (1967)