Directed by David Miller It's not immediately clear in what time period Lonely Are the Brave is set.  It's a black and white film that opens with Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas), a ranch hand, as the image of an ideal cowboy.  He admires the open land of the wide open west, alone except for the company … Continue reading Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Directed by Greta Gerwig Lady Bird is Greta Gerwig's directorial debut and her first solo writing credit.  It's a film very personal to her, set in her hometown and in the same year she would've been a senior in high school.  It's a film that feels authentically hers, with shades of the same protagonist she … Continue reading Lady Bird (2017)

Directed by Robert Aldrich "Aldrich conforms to the traditional narrative requirements of heroes and villains, but within that he often skirts the issue of good and evil in favor of personal codes and moralities." - Senses of Cinema The basic plot elements of The Dirty Dozen can be found in recent films like Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and … Continue reading The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Directed by Barry Levinson Wag the Dog is fun, and it seemed like the people making it had fun.  It's a comedy that satirizes the media, politics and the way people consume media.  In a sense it's a story about "fake news," made twenty years ago. This is one of those high concept comedies, the … Continue reading Wag the Dog (1997)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick Spartacus is in the middle of a Venn diagram.  On one side you have "Studio Epic" and on the other, "Stanley Kubrick."  This is a Kubrickian movie that doesn't feel Kubrickian.  It's almost mind blowing that the same guy who directed this also directed The Shining. Spartacus, whether by its content or … Continue reading Spartacus (1960)

Directed by Sam Fuller The Big Red One might be the strangest war movie I have ever seen.  It follows a group of young soldiers and their Sergeant (Lee Marvin).  The Sergeant, who is given no name, is an older, battle-tested man while his younger soldiers are like students, untested and cautious.  The movie is … Continue reading The Big Red One (1980)

Directed by Oliver Stone Platoon is insane. This is a Vietnam War film in which most of the fighting stays within the platoon.  Our main character is Chris (Charlie Sheen), a mostly green soldier who will end the movie by shooting one of his commanding officers.  And he's never not the hero. The story concerns … Continue reading Platoon (1986)

Directed by Errol Morris Robert McNamara is a confusing figure, at least I think he is.  By the time he passed was he a villain or something of a reformed convict?  Based on what I saw in Spielberg's The Post he was one of the main problems behind the Vietnam War.  He did nothing to de-escalate … Continue reading The Fog of War (2003)