Directed by John Huston The African Queen is the boat Charlie Allnutt (Humphrey Bogart) pilots through Africa in newly German-occupied land during World War I.  Among other things, he delivers mail between villages, including to one in which Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) works as a missionary.  When the village is ransacked by the Germans and … Continue reading The African Queen (1951)

Directed by Sidney Lumet 12 Angry Men takes place in one room and just about in real time.  The film starts with the end of a trial, and the camera focuses on the defendant, a young man, as the jurors who hold his life in their hands, filter into the jury room.  11 of the … Continue reading 12 Angry Men (1957)

Directed by Louis Malle The shot I remember most in God's Country, a 1985 documentary, shows an elderly woman in a retirement home, seemingly unaware of anything that's going on around her while a toothpaste commercial plays loudly in the background, out of focus.  On its own, this shot suggests a world and a time in which … Continue reading God’s Country (1985)

Directed by Joon-ho Bong In Okja, a girl named Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn) grows up with a genetically engineered super pig, Okja, who is then reclaimed by the Mirando corporation, with their eyes set on slaughtering the pig for food and profit. Mija pursues Okja from the mountains where she lives all the way to Seoul, and … Continue reading Okja (2017)

Directed by Edgar Wright Baby Driver is a lot of fun, and that's about all there is to say.  I love Edgar Wright's style, particularly his sense of visual comedy, and he has a way of making you love the heroes of his movies.  In this case, Baby (Ansel Elgort) is immensely likable, first because … Continue reading Baby Driver (2017)

Directed by David Gordon Green In George Washington, a girl speaks somewhat somberly about a boy she likes, George, but she does so in a way that resembles a eulogy.  We find out early on that George (Donald Holden) has a condition that leaves him with a weaker skull, meaning he can't get his head wet … Continue reading George Washington (2000)

Directed by Jeff Nichols Shotgun Stories is highly melancholic.  It's a story about two warring families more deeply rooted to their past and homes, which seem almost transient, than to anything oriented towards the future.  Those families are connected by a father, one who abandoned the first set of brothers and became a better man … Continue reading Shotgun Stories (2007)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Sabotage is very rough around the edges, due almost entirely to the limits of the technology at the time, but if you showed me this film and made me guess the year it was released, I might be inclined to say 1950, until I remember Hitchcock's other films from around the … Continue reading Sabotage (1936)

Directed by Martin Scorsese Tom Cruise is a great actor, and I think that's easy to forget.  He brings such a manic energy to many of his roles, most notably here and in Magnolia.  He's a bit crazy, and when his characters get to be just as crazy, well it seems to work out perfectly.  In The … Continue reading The Color of Money (1986)

Directed by Eric Rohmer In Suzanne's Career, Rohmer focuses on a combination of love, lust and infatuation to get to the heart of why people suck sometimes.  "Love," and the feelings, both positive and negative, that surround such a pursuit are great ways to shed a light into someone's psyche, to see what makes them tick, … Continue reading Suzanne’s Career (1963)