Directed by Steve James Hoop Dreams was meant to be a 30 minute PBS documentary on Chicago street culture through the eyes of kids playing playground basketball. It ended up as a near 3 hour feature documentary with over 300 hours of footage. When it was released, 8 years after shooting began, the film would … Continue reading Hoop Dreams (1994)
Month: April 2018
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Directed by Sam Fuller I Shot Jesse James makes a melodrama out of Robert Ford's decision to kill famed outlaw Jesse James. Ford shoots James early in the film, hoping to reap the bounty placed on his head so that he can settle down with Cynthy, the woman he loves. After the murder, Ford watches … Continue reading I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Directed by the Coen Brothers In an interview promoting Hail, Caesar! the Coen Brothers remarked about George Clooney, “He’s very adept at playing an idiot, and you have to be a very good actor to play an idiot." Clooney often plays the fool in the Coen Brothers' movies, whether in O Brother, Where Art Thou, Burn After Reading, Hail, … Continue reading Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
I’m Carolyn Parker (2011)
Directed by Jonathan Demme Jonathan Demme met Carolyn Parker in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in August of 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina. She had moved back into her home before anyone else on her block, living inside under conditions not many people would put up with. Damaged walls outlining the house … Continue reading I’m Carolyn Parker (2011)
Stagecoach (1939)
Directed by John Ford While it wasn't the first western, nor was it close, Stagecoach was the first modern western. Along with the introduction of what would become repeated tropes in the genre, the film was Ford's first foray into Monument Valley, the landscape he would eventually make famous, and it is what made a star … Continue reading Stagecoach (1939)
Mystic River (2003)
Directed by Clint Eastwood Mystic River tries to tell you that the past never really dies. This is a film about a working class neighborhood in Boston in which the three central characters are deeply haunted by a moment from their childhood. The story opens with this tragic memory before jumping multiple decades into the … Continue reading Mystic River (2003)
Seven Days in May (1964)
Directed by John Frankenheimer Seven Days in May is a political thriller set in the imagined future of 1970. Shot in 1963, not long after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film discusses the threat of nuclear war at a time when that threat was very real. Wait, that's today. Before we meet President Jordan Lyman … Continue reading Seven Days in May (1964)
The Rain People (1969)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola In The Rain People, a pregnant housewife, Natalie (Shirley Knight) leaves her husband and hits the road. She knows not where she is headed, and her aimless travels introduce her to two men whose eventual showdown leaves her hopeless and distraught. Roger Ebert compares this film to Easy Rider, and it's clear … Continue reading The Rain People (1969)
River’s Edge (1986)
Directed by Tim Hunter River's Edge is the intersection between David Lynch and Gus Van Sant. Released before Twin Peaks and most of Van Sant's work, River's Edge precedes films that must have been inspired by this one. It might just be longhaired Keanu Reeves (as seen in My Own Private Idaho) or Dennis Hopper (who played a big role … Continue reading River’s Edge (1986)
Reality Bites (1994)
Directed by Ben Stiller Set in Texas in the early 90s and co-starring Ethan Hawke, Reality Bites has a lot in common with a Richard Linklater movie, at least on the surface. This Ben Stiller-directed comedy is a post-grad story following a group of Generation X-ers, though Stiller and the studio were careful not to mention … Continue reading Reality Bites (1994)
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