Directed by Akira Kurosawa When a young detective has his pistol stolen he undergoes something close to a spiritual breakdown. Teamed up with an older, calmer detective, he hunts down the gun and the criminal who has used it to kill multiple people. The plot allows for the two detectives to discuss their different life … Continue reading Stray Dog (1949)
Month: May 2018
Drunken Angel (1948)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Drunken Angel has more heart than you typically see in a film noir. It starts with a late night meeting between two alcoholics, one a doctor and the other a member of the yakuza (mafia). When the doctor reveals that the gang member has tuberculosis, his prognosis doesn't seem good. By … Continue reading Drunken Angel (1948)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa No Regrets for Our Youth is a coming of age story about Yukie (Setsuko Hara), a young college student who transcends the initial melodramatic love triangle and turns into a selfless, honorable, otherwise anonymous member of the community. The film covers over a decade in her life and charts the work of … Continue reading No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Directed by Charlie Chaplin Film critic Stanley Kauffmann said of Charlie Chaplin that The Great Dictator made him the David to Hitler's Goliath. Chaplin's first talkie film, with the last (possible) incarnation of The Tramp, started off as a parody of Hitler and became an act of defiance somewhere along the way. The film was put … Continue reading The Great Dictator (1940)
The Sunset Limited (2011)
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones Based on a Cormac McCarthy play, The Sunset Limited is a single conversation between two people that takes place completely within one small room. The characters are unnamed, and they are played by Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, two actors I'm certain will get their big break sooner or … Continue reading The Sunset Limited (2011)
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa World War II ended before Akira Kurosawa finished shooting The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail. The film was made to be short, cheap and suitable to Japanese censors, but when the Allied forces took over they brought with them American censors who considered the subject of feudal Japan to be … Continue reading The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Two young lovers look through an open house in Tokyo. With only 35 yen between them, Yuzo doesn't understand why his girlfriend, Masako, bothers pretending they could ever afford a place like this. Yuzo:"We have to face reality to survive in a world like this." Masako: "This is the kind of … Continue reading One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
Directed by Julien Temple In Earth Girls Are Easy, three lustful, hairy aliens swing down to the Fernando Valley to hang out with Geena Davis and apparently not Alicia Silverstone. How Geena Davis' friend (Julie Brown) isn't Alicia Silverstone is beyond me. This is a musical comedy about aliens and the woman who falls in love with … Continue reading Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
Andre the Giant (2018)
Directed by Jason Hehir Andre the Giant charts the career and life of André René Roussimoff, a 7'4" wrestler from France who bridged the gap between the early, regional days of WWE and the national, cable-driven heights of the performative sport. Through the lens of his life the film discusses celebrity, myth, fame and the toll … Continue reading Andre the Giant (2018)
House of Games (1987)
Directed by David Mamet House of Games is one of those movies about a con man in which the audience itself is supposed to be fooled. You see this in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige and in a movie like Now You See It, and such sleight of hand is a tricky thing to pull off. There are … Continue reading House of Games (1987)
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