Directed by Brian De Palma, Wilford Leach The Wedding Party is one of Brian De Palma's first films, and it feels at once redundant and deeply original.  The originality, though, is almost enough to take you out of the movie while the redundancy is enough to pull you back in. A young man, Charlie, is … Continue reading The Wedding Party (1969)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch Night on Earth is a collection of five short films set almost entirely inside five different cabs across the world.  Cab drivers and their passengers are the only thing these shorts have in common, well, that and the fact there is a nice lesson learned at the end for one of … Continue reading Night on Earth (1991)

Directed by Ben Wheatley A Field in England would make a great music video.  Ben Wheatley does a great job with the juxtaposition of sound and image, particularly in his fast edits.  The technical components of this film outweigh the narrative, though I may only think that because the story was a little hard to … Continue reading A Field in England (2013)

Directed by Brian De Palma Sisters feels like a combination of old and new.  The story itself, with themes of female suppression by male forces and a sense of grounded supernaturalism, feels very of the times in the 70s.  The cinematography and music, on the other hand, feel steeped in old school techniques, including the … Continue reading Sisters (1972)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch Willie (John Lurie) is the personification of America.  He lives in New York City, dresses like a prohibition era gangster, drinks Budweiser, aggressively defends the flexibility of his frozen tv dinners, and he has the freedom to roam across the country without the frame of mind to enjoy it.  He gambles … Continue reading Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch Paterson (Adam Driver) is a bus driver in the small-town of Paterson, New Jersey.  He was born and raised there, but he just as easily could have chosen it on his own, as if drawn there.  In some ways it feels like Paterson couldn't or simply doesn't exist outside outside of … Continue reading Paterson (2016)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch Down By Law might just be about consequence.  In the first act of the film, when Jack (John Lurie) and Zack (Tom Waits) are arrested somewhat unjustly, there is a feeling that their arrest was inevitable, possibly just because their lives were heading in such a direction that made this possible. … Continue reading Down By Law (1986)

Directed by Nacho Vigalondo Colossal is about Gloria's (Anne Hathaway) struggle to put her life back together while she deals with her alcoholism and being broke.  Except, the film mostly disregards both of these points and focuses on an abusive childhood friend, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) with whom she reconnects after returning home following a break … Continue reading Colossal (2016)

Directed by Brian De Palma Mission to Mars has ambitions, to be sure, but it's also weighed down by cliches, forced exposition, flat characters and a reluctance to explain itself even though that's not always a bad thing.  In some movies it's best not to say too much, but you flirt with the risk of … Continue reading Mission to Mars (2000)

Directed by Wim Wenders Paris, Texas is a stunningly beautiful film that, despite mostly dealing with loss, guilt and suffering, ends up feeling incredibly hopeful.  It's very possible that you might not take the ending with any sense of optimism, and the film, on several occasions, seems to offer you multiple ways out of the … Continue reading Paris, Texas (1984)