Directed by Adrian Lyne Jacob's Ladder depicts a Vietnam veteran's schizophrenia, to put it simply. We live in Jacob's (Tim Robbins) head and are privy to the nightmares he sees but which no one else believes. His story will bounce around between reality, nightmare, and flashback so often that you forget which is which. In … Continue reading Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
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The Mechanic (1972)
Directed by Michael Winner Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is the sommelier of death in The Mechanic. He's a contract killer who somehow attracts our empathy because of his loneliness and the tireless commitment to his job. He's an assassin, sure, but he goes to such great lengths to make sure his targets die in what look … Continue reading The Mechanic (1972)
Il Posto (1961)
Directed by Ermanno Olmi In Il Posto a Timothee Chalamet-looking young man, Domenico, reluctantly joins the working force. It's a daunting and certainly droll process that introduces him to Antonietta, another applicant for the large, unnamed and unimportant corporation. It doesn't matter what they do as long as they are paid to do it. Domenico's father … Continue reading Il Posto (1961)
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Directed by Stephen Herek Keanu Reeves has played a part in so many iconic movies over the last thirty years. Here he is as the affable Ted, two years before playing the stoic Johnny Utah in Point Break. Then you have Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho, Speed, The Matrix, even The Replacements, and most recently the two John … Continue reading Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Directed by Robert Mulligan To Kill a Mockingbird announces itself before the film even begins. The grand Elmer Bernstein music, coupled with intimate close ups of trinkets that will gather meaning (but already have a great deal if you're familiar with the book) throughout the film suggest something important, like the source text is the … Continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Directed by Craig Gillespie Lars holds on tightly to a vivid imagination that makes some children seem gifted or creative but which they inevitably let go of overtime. While he blends into society, at least within this small midwestern town, he clings to a delusion that allows him to instill a blow-up sex doll with … Continue reading Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Beginners (2010)
Directed by Mike Mills I can't write objectively about Beginners because it is probably, presently my favorite film of all time. It's a lullaby, a soft breeze, the first sip of coffee, the cords of a familiar song, a towel after a dip in the ocean, and it is that moment you realize your car, which … Continue reading Beginners (2010)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Directed by Sam Fuller Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) is a subway pickpocket who lives in a shack on the waterfront, likening him to a sewer rat, hiding in the shadows. He emerges only when he needs something and is otherwise content to live a solitary life. He's a part of an underground community of pickpockets, … Continue reading Pickup on South Street (1953)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Directed by Alan Parker It's 1964, and two FBI detectives descend on a small town in Mississippi in search of three boys who have gone missing. We know these boys (two white, one black) have been murdered by the Klu Klux Klan, so the detective's journey has little to do with the search itself but … Continue reading Mississippi Burning (1988)
Ariel (1988)
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki The "Ariel" is a large ship to which Taisto will flee after he escapes from prison. It represents the only freedom for a man who has spent his whole life trapped. Accompanying him will be Irmeli and her young son, willing participants whose eagerness to escape suggests more about the poor quality … Continue reading Ariel (1988)
