Directed by Charlie Chaplin Modern Times was the last appearance of Charlie Chaplin's famous character, the Tramp.  It's going to be hard for me to speak about his character, himself and his films considering this is only the second Chaplin film I've seen (after 1931's City Lights), but bear with me, I did some research. Chaplin's … Continue reading Modern Times (1936)

Directed by Brian De Palma Carrie is one of Brian De Palma's most well-known films.  It might be that, this being a horror film, the all or nothing style of his filmmaking becomes a little more accessible.  This film is way over the top, like just about every De Palma film, but I think that … Continue reading Carrie (1976)

Directed by Brian De Palma Obsession is very much a version of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.  Both films deal with a man's loss of power following the death of the woman he loves, followed by a subsequent effort to remake another woman into the image of the deceased.  It's something that should be creepy, yet in both … Continue reading Obsession (1976)

Directed by Brian De Palma Like De Palma's Blow Out (1981), this film is his reworking of a pre-existing tale, in this case the Phantom of the Opera.  In Paradise, a lot happens in act 1 to set up a situation in which a popular rock opera is haunted by a Phantom, Winslow (William Finley).  Winslow wrote the … Continue reading Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Directed by Brian De Palma Carlito's Way is, like I wrote about The Untouchables, very violent and melodramatic, but it's great.  Okay, maybe it's a little long, but this genre of mafiosos, gangsters, drugs and money is always a little long.  In Carlito's Way, we're given too early images of Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino).  In the first, … Continue reading Carlito’s Way (1993)

Directed by Richard Linklater Most of Richard Linklater’s films seem grounded in hyperrealism, but because of that it might be easy to overlook the sort of heightened realism of some of his other films, such as SubUrbia and Tape.  These are films presented as stories in our own world.  They glamorize or at least focus … Continue reading Tape (2001)

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky The Steamroller and the Violin, Andrei Tarkovsky's first film, is a quiet one about a young boy, who plays the violin, befriending a working man, the steamroller.  The story is simple but genuine.  It relies on the interaction between and believability of the two main characters, but the film is much … Continue reading The Steamroller and the Violin (1962)

Directed by James Gray The Lost City of Z is an adventure movie, but there's not quite as much adventure as you'd expect.  It's the story of Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), an explorer in the early 1900s who accepts a mission deep into the uncharted Amazon and soon becomes obsessed with finding a lost city … Continue reading The Lost City of Z (2017)

Directed by Brian De Palma I can’t tell if this film is good or terrible.  I probably only give it as much credit as I do because it’s directed by Brian De Palma.  The film is occasionally melodramatic and often cartoonishly violent, two things that might irritate me in another film, but those qualities are … Continue reading The Untouchables (1987)

Directed by Mike Birbiglia I loved Don't Think Twice when I first saw it about a year ago.  I love improv, I love Mike Birbiglia, and I love so many of the actors in this movie.  It ends on a sentimental note, and it worked for me.  Watching this a second time, though, I was struck … Continue reading Don’t Think Twice (2016)