Directed by Stephen Herek Keanu Reeves has played a part in so many iconic movies over the last thirty years. Here he is as the affable Ted, two years before playing the stoic Johnny Utah in Point Break. Then you have Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho, Speed, The Matrix, even The Replacements, and most recently the two John … Continue reading Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Month: September 2018
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Directed by Robert Mulligan To Kill a Mockingbird announces itself before the film even begins. The grand Elmer Bernstein music, coupled with intimate close ups of trinkets that will gather meaning (but already have a great deal if you're familiar with the book) throughout the film suggest something important, like the source text is the … Continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Directed by Craig Gillespie Lars holds on tightly to a vivid imagination that makes some children seem gifted or creative but which they inevitably let go of overtime. While he blends into society, at least within this small midwestern town, he clings to a delusion that allows him to instill a blow-up sex doll with … Continue reading Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Beginners (2010)
Directed by Mike Mills I can't write objectively about Beginners because it is probably, presently my favorite film of all time. It's a lullaby, a soft breeze, the first sip of coffee, the cords of a familiar song, a towel after a dip in the ocean, and it is that moment you realize your car, which … Continue reading Beginners (2010)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Directed by Sam Fuller Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) is a subway pickpocket who lives in a shack on the waterfront, likening him to a sewer rat, hiding in the shadows. He emerges only when he needs something and is otherwise content to live a solitary life. He's a part of an underground community of pickpockets, … Continue reading Pickup on South Street (1953)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Directed by Alan Parker It's 1964, and two FBI detectives descend on a small town in Mississippi in search of three boys who have gone missing. We know these boys (two white, one black) have been murdered by the Klu Klux Klan, so the detective's journey has little to do with the search itself but … Continue reading Mississippi Burning (1988)
Ariel (1988)
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki The "Ariel" is a large ship to which Taisto will flee after he escapes from prison. It represents the only freedom for a man who has spent his whole life trapped. Accompanying him will be Irmeli and her young son, willing participants whose eagerness to escape suggests more about the poor quality … Continue reading Ariel (1988)
The Death of Stalin (2017)
Directed by Armando Iannucci The Death of Stalin is a blend of comedy and Greek tragedy. It's written/directed by Armando Iannucci, the man behind 2009's In the Loop and the HBO show Veep. This time around he finds a new location and setting for his fast-talking, improv-heavy, insult-laden political comedy, 1953 in the Soviet Union. Many scenes … Continue reading The Death of Stalin (2017)
The Running Man (1987)
Directed by Paul Michael Glaser I say this affectionately, but The Running Man is one of the worst films I think I've ever seen. I'm sure there is a lot about that statement that's quite unfair, but jeez it's tough to get through. The very very 80's movie is loaded with cliches, tropes, underwhelming quips, poor … Continue reading The Running Man (1987)
The Match Factory Girl (1990)
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki Iris Rukka has sadness etched all over her face. With a slender build, sunken eyes and a silent disposition, she is pain incarnate. She hardly speaks throughout the film and thus exists more like just another part of the scenery, as if she is just another prop to be arranged in the … Continue reading The Match Factory Girl (1990)
