Directed by Michael Bay Michael Bay gets a lot of flak, and he only deserves most of it.  His movies are kind of... I don't know, silly?  He makes loud, obnoxious movies that are to its 13 year old audience what a Nancy Meyers movie is to its 63 year old audience. Of course, there … Continue reading The Rock (1996)

Directed by Robert Bresson Anytime I write about a Robert Bresson film I feel the need to talk about Bresson's mannequin-like actors, so I'll just get it out of the way now because it's important to reiterate what to expect from a Bresson film before analyzing it.  In his films, actors are stripped of emotion.  … Continue reading Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)

Directed by Werner Herzog Nicholas Cage and Werner Herzog both go over the top here, and I suppose it's kind of wonderful, so long as you can stomach it.  Bad Lieutenant takes place in post Katrina New Orleans, following Terence McDonagh (Cage) as he begins to break from reality.  McDonagh challenges the viewer, as if to … Continue reading Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

Directed by Leo McCarey Duck Soup is a Marx Brothers movie.  The Marx Brothers are not quite Charlie Chaplin, but they might have been as well-regarded.  Really, I know very little about Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico.  They are Chaplin-esque in movement, but this movie is about half silent and half talkie, allowing one Marx … Continue reading Duck Soup (1933)

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson I imagine a lot of people feel a deep connection to Field of Dreams.  I certainly do.  I hadn't seen the film in well over a decade, but so much of the imagery remained vivid in my head, like some dream (no pun intended) I was returning to from my childhood. … Continue reading Field of Dreams (1989)

Directed by Otto Preminger Anatomy of a Murder is surprisingly light-hearted for a trial involving rape and murder.  It's a two and a half hour movie, set mostly within a court room, that focuses on a small-town defense attorney named Paul Biegler (James Stewart).  The film emphasizes procedure over character, giving each person a moment … Continue reading Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Directed by Tony Gilroy Michael Clayton is a sleek, cool thriller.  It's a story about spies and secret boardroom dealings and explosions.  It's a story immersed in feelings of paranoia and characters, namely George Clooney, who just stepped out of a magazine spread.  It's strangely reminiscent of those cool old 70's films, the type of … Continue reading Michael Clayton (2007)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Marnie might just be the beginning of the end for Alfred Hitchcock.  It's the first film following the last of his most well-known pictures, 1963's The Birds which itself was the culmination of a run of films that included Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho.  And you know, basically all of the 50's went pretty … Continue reading Marnie (1964)

Directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson In Up, Carl Fredricksen retires to South America by way of floating house in order to fulfill a dream shared by himself and his now deceased wife, Ellie.  The dream is to visit Paradise Falls and to someday live there, but as an early montage shows us, life moves by … Continue reading Up (2009)

Directed by Martin McDonagh Seven Psychopaths is the second of McDonagh's three films, after In Bruges and ahead of this year's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  If you like Three Billboards you probably also like Seven Psychopaths and vice versa.  McDonagh clearly has a distinct sensibility, something like the combination of comedy and violence seen in a Shane Black … Continue reading Seven Psychopaths (2012)