Directed by Michael Kang The Motel is a sweet little coming of age story that hits all the familiar quirky Independent movie beats but never overstays its welcome. Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau), who works at his mother's modest motel, is a thirteen year old kid burrowing straight into puberty and attracting all the trouble that such … Continue reading The Motel (2005)
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Vegas Vacation (1997)
Directed by Stephen Kessler What did you expect? Vegas Vacation is fine, and that's about it. It's a later installment in the Griswold story, yet another vacation in which we revisit Clark, Ellen, Cousin Eddie and, this time, the Griswold kids who were much older than last we saw them (8 years prior) and played … Continue reading Vegas Vacation (1997)
The Train (1964)
Directed by John Frankenheimer There's a lot of deep focus in The Train and, from what I recall, other John Frankenheimer films like The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May. Let's start there... These are all political films, much more about conflicts between ideologies than between individuals. We see them in deep focus, carefully staged, so that … Continue reading The Train (1964)
Camera Buff (1979)
Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski "What are you filming?" "Anything that moves." A mild-mannered new father finds his true calling in the form of a film camera in Camera Buff. Filip's sudden passion is made to seem both enchanted and selfish, and his newfound joy brings great catharsis to some while alienating others. Filip's wife, Irka, is … Continue reading Camera Buff (1979)
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
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)
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)
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