Directed by Kelly Reichardt In River of Grass an existentially bored housewife searches for an identity. The story concerns her, a similarly lonely loose cannon and a lost gun. She is Cozy, he is Lee (Larry Fessenden), and the gun belongs to her detective father. That they are all so neatly connected perhaps stretches plausibility, but … Continue reading River of Grass (1994)
French new wave
Le Samourai (1967)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville Le Samourai, like its main character, a contract killer named Jef Costello (Alain Delon), is precise. We watch Costello over the course of a few days as he carries out a hit in stoic, rehearsed fashion and then evades both the law and the mysterious people who hired him. This is a … Continue reading Le Samourai (1967)
The Chase (1966)
Directed by Arthur Penn It's hard to keep track of all the goings on in Arthur Penn's The Chase. What begins as a slow burn soon erupts into pure chaos as a small Texas town loses its mind while awaiting the arrival of an escaped criminal, Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford). It doesn't much matter who Bubber … Continue reading The Chase (1966)
Medicine for Melancholy (2008)
Directed by Barry Jenkins Medicine for Melancholy feels like a film from the French New Wave. It's a character study with no real plot. The shots are handheld, and the image is bleached and desaturated so much so that the movie calls attention to the ways in which it is just that, a movie. This … Continue reading Medicine for Melancholy (2008)
American Made (2017)
Directed by Doug Liman There's a good story somewhere in here, but American Made doesn't see it. This is a crazy story based on true events, the type that has to someday become a movie, though much of that insanity is watered down by the ways in which this feels like it's ripping off so many … Continue reading American Made (2017)
Drunken Angel (1948)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Drunken Angel has more heart than you typically see in a film noir. It starts with a late night meeting between two alcoholics, one a doctor and the other a member of the yakuza (mafia). When the doctor reveals that the gang member has tuberculosis, his prognosis doesn't seem good. By … Continue reading Drunken Angel (1948)
The Limey (1999)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh The Limey has the feel of an old French film from the 1960s, something like Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, Francois Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player or Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows. What I remember most about those films is the gun, the non-conventional editing and an ending that doesn't always offer you what you want … Continue reading The Limey (1999)
The Producers (1967)
Directed by Mel Brooks It helps to know the climate into which The Producers was born and released. It's a lowbrow comedy with a series of jokes both vulgar and cheap, and the utter disbelief audiences may have had could be lost on modern audiences because of the insane amount of lowbrow comedies released since. This … Continue reading The Producers (1967)
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