Directed by Yasujiro Ozu Floating Weeds is a melodrama about a man whose ill-conceived but well-intentioned lie catches up to him. He is Komajuro, the leader of a small, struggling acting troupe as it arrives in a seaside village in which resides a former mistress, Oyoshi, and adult son, Kiyoshi. Komajuro is immensely proud of … Continue reading Floating Weeds (1959)
Month: June 2019
Serenity (2019)
Directed by Steven Knight Serenity might just be bad. At least if you take it at face value it's certainly bonkers, however I think there's something under the surface here about the film noir genre as a whole, it's construction, absurdity and the degree to which such worlds and characters are almost parodies of our … Continue reading Serenity (2019)
The Only Son (1936)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu A young man, Ryosuke, receives a surprise visit from his mother, Tsune, in Ozu's The Only Son. Their visit lasts a quiet couple of days in Tokyo, and through strained pleasantries she learns for the first time that he is married and has a son. A night school teacher, he is quietly ashamed of … Continue reading The Only Son (1936)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Directed by Joe Berlinger Alright so Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile claims to present a new angle on the Ted Bundy story, a perspective through the eyes of his girlfriend, Liz (Lily Collins)... and yet she's hardly a character in the movie. It is instead focused on Bundy (Zac Efron) himself, specifically his charged charisma. … Continue reading Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Godzilla (1954)
Directed by Ishirô Honda Director Ishirō Honda said, "If Godzilla had been a dinosaur or some other animal, he would have been killed by just one cannonball. But if he were equal to an atomic bomb, we wouldn't know what to do. So, I took the characteristics of an atomic bomb and applied them to Godzilla." … Continue reading Godzilla (1954)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Directed by Peter Greenaway The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & her Lover is a theatrical movie which takes place almost entirely within the large, ornate London restaurant owned by mobster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon, aka Albus Dumbledore). He eats there every night with his wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) and a group of his thugs … Continue reading The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
King Kong (1933)
Directed by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack King Kong is a marvel of a film. Sure just about every aspect of the film has become dated, from the stop motion to the rear projection screens to the racist imagery of a tribal population that sacrifices women to the monster known as Kong, and yet … Continue reading King Kong (1933)
Super Dark Times (2017)
Directed by Kevin Phillips There's something unsettling about your teenage years, at least while you're in them. There have been many a film made about such a time, seen through a nostalgic lens, but Super Dark Times is not one of those films. It's highly in the moment, moving with every dramatic whim perceived by its … Continue reading Super Dark Times (2017)
Triumph of the Will (1935)
Directed by Leni Riefenstahl I feel like I'm doing an act of service when I call this film boring, which it is. But it's important, very important, and it's influential. It's a fascinating historical document and certainly a spectacle, but it's also just so boring. It's a propaganda film, of course, about Adolf Hitler and … Continue reading Triumph of the Will (1935)
Tomorrowland (2015)
Directed by Brad Bird You know how sometimes we read stuff off the internet and then parrot it back as our own opinion? Or maybe it's a movie, a podcast, a book or really anything else. It could just be what you overhear someone say. It's like there's a subject on which you have no … Continue reading Tomorrowland (2015)
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