Directed by Sean Penn Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is a retiring police officer who isn't ready to let go. On the night of his retirement party the body of a young girl is discovered in the woods, and it's Jerry who shoulders the emotional burden of first notifying the girl's parents and then promising to … Continue reading The Pledge (2001)
paul schrader
The Yakuza (1974)
Directed by Sydney Pollack "A Yakuza pays his debts/A Yakuza does his duty/A man without debt/A man without duty/Is not a man." This is the song sung midway through Sydney Pollack's The Yakuza and which sums up the philosophy which guides the characters of the film. It's an eastern philosophy into which the western character, Harry Kilmer … Continue reading The Yakuza (1974)
Dragged Across Concrete (2018)
Directed by S. Craig Zahler Dragged Across Concrete is a purposefully slow genre movie. It moves with what at first seems like the type of patience that implies something more going on underneath the surface, but ultimately I think it's just the scattered first draft of a movie that isn't sure what it wants to … Continue reading Dragged Across Concrete (2018)
Diane (2018)
Directed by Kent Jones In some ways, at least from a poor description of the plot, this is a slasher movie. It might not seem that way, definitely not from the trailer, but it is. Diane tells the quiet story of a woman caring for friends and family, some already dying, some soon to die … Continue reading Diane (2018)
Cold War (2018)
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski Cold War is a love story between Zula and Wiktor, told over the course of fifteen years made tumultuous due to Poland's politics of the time. The various difficulties they face, both between each other and with their government, turn them into a modern-er day Romeo & Juliet, two people destined for … Continue reading Cold War (2018)
Burning (2018)
Directed by Chang-dong Lee Burning is a wonderful, tense character study. It's a thriller in some sense, though not initially. Such genre construction only develops over time from Jong-su's (Ah-In Yoo) obsession with and dissatisfaction over losing a girl he sleeps with, Hae-mi (Jong-seo Jeon). She's a classmate from middle school whom he once called ugly. … Continue reading Burning (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)
Blue Collar (1978)
Directed by Paul Schrader "Everything they do is to keep us in our place." Underpaid, poorly represented and fed up, three Detroit auto workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters. For Zeke (Richard Pryor), Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) and Jerry (Harvey Keitel), this is a last ditch effort. Zeke owes the IRS a … Continue reading Blue Collar (1978)
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)
First Reformed (2017)
Directed by Paul Schrader First Reformed is great. It's the type of movie I eat up, you know that kind of arthouse, slow burn type of character study. It's another A24 release, shot in a square ratio like last year's A Ghost Story. Like that film this one is quiet, so stripped of music and dialogue … Continue reading First Reformed (2017)
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