Directed by Robert Altman The military surgeons of MASH act like they're at summer camp, rather than at war.  Nothing is ever taken too seriously, even as soldiers are rushed through with violent, often fatal injuries.  Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and John McIntyre (Elliot Gould) are so distant from the war, yet they see the brutality of such … Continue reading MASH (1970)

Directed by Martin Scorsese Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is the The King of Comedy.  He's also a lunatic.  Pupkin idolizes Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), a successful comedian and late night host.  All Pupkin wants is to appear on the show to do his act, but he only wants that so he can be famous and … Continue reading The King of Comedy (1982)

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich The Last Picture Show is about beginnings and endings, but by the end, even the beginnings feel like endings.  The story follows Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) as well as his friend Duane (Jeff Bridges) and a girl named Jacy (Cybill Shepard).  Sonny breaks up with his girlfriend, and he tells a friend … Continue reading The Last Picture Show (1971)

Directed by Francois Truffaut Stolen Kisses is the third film about Antoine Doinel, following 1959's The 400 Blows and the 1962 short film Antoine et Collette.  Whereas The 400 Blows followed Doinel as a child, breaking rules and discovering himself, the latter two films have focused more on his pursuit of love.  In Antoine et Collette, Antoine falls in … Continue reading Stolen Kisses (1968)

Directed by Martin Scorsese Did you know that Nicholas Cage almost played Superman? It's ridiculous, to imagine, but I think that's only because Superman is a purely 'good' character.  He's a challenging character to make a film about, and I guess what I'm getting at is I can't imagine Cage playing the role.  That's because … Continue reading Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

Directed by John Cassavetes I think there is more to say about this film as a technical experiment than as a self-contained story.  It's highly improvisational, though I'm not entirely sure how much.  The reason I watched this film was because of the amount of improvisation, and the influence this has had on many other … Continue reading Shadows (1959)

Directed by Hal Ashby "Some people can't learn what we learn." The Landlord, Hal Ahsby's first film, covers race relations through the eyes of a 29 year old white man named Elgar (Beau Bridges), the son of wealthy parents.  Beau lives at home, but he decides it's time to move out and make his own … Continue reading The Landlord (1970)

Directed by Andrew Fleming Dick is a comedy about a world that must have made very little sense at the time.  It's not about any one character so much as it is an effort to explain a bunch of things that were beyond comprehension.  The film opens with the Watergate burglary, and it ends with … Continue reading Dick (1999)

Directed by Spike Lee The She in She's Gotta Have It is Nola Darling.  These the object of desire for three men: Jamie, Mars and Greer.  Nola dates all three at once, insistent that she can't or won't settle for just one of them.  She is upfront with her decision, and all three men know about the … Continue reading She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

Directed by Agnes Varda Cleo From 5 to 7 is somehow about both nothing and everything.  A famous French singer, Cleo, wanders around Paris for an hour and a half as she nervously awaits medical test results.  At the end she gets those results, which seem to confirm that she has cancer but that it … Continue reading Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962)