Directed by Arthur Penn A film noir with shades of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye and Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Night Moves is a Los Angeles-based detective story in which the private eye hero finds himself in over his head in a convoluted plot wherein nothing is as it seems. In contrast with those other two films, with finales … Continue reading Night Moves (1975)
chinatown
Fletch (1985)
Directed by Michael Ritchie Fletch is a bit of a screwball noir comedy, traversing much the same terrain as Jake Gittes and Philip Marlowe. He's a journalist in the mold of Woodward & Bernstein but takes his investigation to the extreme, donning a variety of disguises and alter egos. He becomes a detective, not because the … Continue reading Fletch (1985)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Directed by Bob Rafelson Five Easy Pieces is at the forefront of the New Hollywood, at least I think it is. Released at the beginning of the 70s, the film precedes many of the classic movies from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg, Altman, Bogdanovich, Boorman, De Palma... [deep breath]... Friedkin, … Continue reading Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Affliction (1997)
Directed by Paul Schrader There are a lot of murder mystery movies out there in which the investigation offers unspoken redemption for the troubled protagonist, whether it's a cop, a private detective or just a motivated relative of the deceased. These characters might be alcoholics, they're probably divorced, and their lives have crumbled to the … Continue reading Affliction (1997)
The Changeling (1980)
Directed by Peter Medak Alright so right off the bat, this movie scared me. It might be a silly ghost story with pretty simple effects (a creaking door, high-pitched strings, a cobwebby wheelchair), but sh*t was I tense near the end. Maybe it was a really effective movie, or maybe it was that the movie … Continue reading The Changeling (1980)
Cul-de-sac (1966)
Directed by Roman Polanski David Thompson refers to the world of Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac as the "cinema of the absurd," a combination of tragedy and low-brow comedy that might confuse, unsettle and frustrate its audience. Cul-de-sac is an unlikely film, made by an unlikely group of people that seems almost giddy, a celebration of its own … Continue reading Cul-de-sac (1966)
idrawonmywall.com 