Directed by Richard C. Sarafian Vanishing Point has a lot in common with The Sugarland Express (1974) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977). It's a car chase movie that starts off small but then builds and builds until our hero behind the wheel has attracted a large, adoring cheering section. In this case Kowalski (Barry Newman) becomes a … Continue reading Vanishing Point (1971)
Permanent Green Light (2018)
Directed by Dennis Cooper, Zac Farley A boy wants to blow himself up in Permanent Green Light. He'll explain to several people, reassuring them, that he doesn't wish to blow others up, just himself. He doesn't even want to die, he just wants to 'end,' citing as an example the story of a man who fell … Continue reading Permanent Green Light (2018)
The Party (2017)
Directed by Sally Potter The Party is one of those dinner party movies in which everyone starts off chic, civilized and egocentric, and by the end they will be humbled, humiliated and return in some sense to a more primal state of being. As the havoc of The Party plays out, characters will question their own … Continue reading The Party (2017)
Moonrise (1948)
Directed by Frank Borzage Moonrise opens in brutal fashion, with the shadow of a man being hanged (without a chance at his final words, no less). From there we cut to the shadow of a hanging doll teasing a crying baby, the son of the hanged man. We next see that boy, Danny, a little … Continue reading Moonrise (1948)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
Directed by RaMell Ross RaMell Ross' Hale County This Morning, This Evening is a slice of life documentary both unobtrusive and yet stylized in its own way. It observes at times like a fly on the wall and in other moments with an intimate proximity to the people onscreen. We see some crying with their heads … Continue reading Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Directed by Chad Stahelski The third John Wick matches the energy of the first two, somewhat improbably, if only because the movie and its universe is already so unhinged. And yet all that ever-expanding chaos is somehow grounded within a strange but strict set of rules. It's John Wick's decision to break those rules at … Continue reading John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Gosford Park (2001)
Directed by Robert Altman I had to turn on the subtitles for Gosford Park. Robert Altman loves to show you a roomful of people talking right over each other. It feels realistic, documentary-like and with all the sharp, royal accents here I had trouble picking up individual lines. But that's part of the point. It's usually … Continue reading Gosford Park (2001)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu Floating Weeds is a melodrama about a man whose ill-conceived but well-intentioned lie catches up to him. He is Komajuro, the leader of a small, struggling acting troupe as it arrives in a seaside village in which resides a former mistress, Oyoshi, and adult son, Kiyoshi. Komajuro is immensely proud of … Continue reading Floating Weeds (1959)
Serenity (2019)
Directed by Steven Knight Serenity might just be bad. At least if you take it at face value it's certainly bonkers, however I think there's something under the surface here about the film noir genre as a whole, it's construction, absurdity and the degree to which such worlds and characters are almost parodies of our … Continue reading Serenity (2019)
The Only Son (1936)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu A young man, Ryosuke, receives a surprise visit from his mother, Tsune, in Ozu's The Only Son. Their visit lasts a quiet couple of days in Tokyo, and through strained pleasantries she learns for the first time that he is married and has a son. A night school teacher, he is quietly ashamed of … Continue reading The Only Son (1936)
