Directed by Armando Iannucci The Death of Stalin is a blend of comedy and Greek tragedy. It's written/directed by Armando Iannucci, the man behind 2009's In the Loop and the HBO show Veep. This time around he finds a new location and setting for his fast-talking, improv-heavy, insult-laden political comedy, 1953 in the Soviet Union. Many scenes … Continue reading The Death of Stalin (2017)
The Running Man (1987)
Directed by Paul Michael Glaser I say this affectionately, but The Running Man is one of the worst films I think I've ever seen. I'm sure there is a lot about that statement that's quite unfair, but jeez it's tough to get through. The very very 80's movie is loaded with cliches, tropes, underwhelming quips, poor … Continue reading The Running Man (1987)
The Match Factory Girl (1990)
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki Iris Rukka has sadness etched all over her face. With a slender build, sunken eyes and a silent disposition, she is pain incarnate. She hardly speaks throughout the film and thus exists more like just another part of the scenery, as if she is just another prop to be arranged in the … Continue reading The Match Factory Girl (1990)
A Quiet Place (2018)
Directed by John Krasinski A Quiet Place was quite the buzzed about movie for a little while there, and it only took me about half a year to catch up. I avoided the movie in theaters because, frankly, I'm terrible at watching horror movies. Every jump scare terrifies me, and this movie about deadly blind … Continue reading A Quiet Place (2018)
Christine (2016)
Directed by Antonio Campos Okay, so Christine is a mix of Network (1976), Nightcrawler (2014), Blue Jasmine (2013) and Taxi Driver (1976). Set in 1974, the story of a local news reporter plays out in the shadow of the Woodward and Bernstein takedown of Richard Nixon which is chronicled in another 1976 film, All the President's Men. Christine Chubbuck, the … Continue reading Christine (2016)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Directed by Tay Garnett It seems there were a lot of unhappy marriages in postwar America, one in which the woman married too young to an older man who could promise financial security and little more. It's these types of marriages, at least cinematically-speaking, that lead to the Double Indemnity-esque murder plots, where the conspirators finally … Continue reading The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Interstellar (2014)
Directed by Christopher Nolan Rewatching Interstellar I forgot how strange and clunky the world and exposition of act 1 was. Earth in this not so distant future is unsuitable for life. There are dust storms milling about, schools deny the moon landing, and the New York Yankees play in front of crowds less than a thousand. … Continue reading Interstellar (2014)
Shoah (1985)
Directed by Claude Lanzmann Where do you begin with something like this? I've never seen a film like Shoah. It's hard to even call it a film. The nine and a half hour documentary is just a series of long conversations with people touched by the Holocaust, many survivors and others perpetrators. The conversations at time … Continue reading Shoah (1985)
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018)
Directed by Thom Zimny Elvis' story is a tragic one though perhaps the most well-known archetype of the rags to riches to untimely celebrity death story we've become acquainted with. The King was around long enough to experience multiple dramatic shifts in his career, and yet he died young enough to make us wonder what … Continue reading Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018)
Winter Light (1963)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman "Why hast thou forsaken me?" Paster Tomas' plight is such a bare, direct expression of his existential crisis. His overt vulnerability is hard to take but also hard to deny because the rigidity of his devout despair refuses cliche or sentimentality. Instead it's almost robotic, like a programmed emotional breakdown, a … Continue reading Winter Light (1963)
