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)
revenge
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Directed by Peter Greenaway The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & her Lover is a theatrical movie which takes place almost entirely within the large, ornate London restaurant owned by mobster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon, aka Albus Dumbledore). He eats there every night with his wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) and a group of his thugs … Continue reading The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Freaks (1932)
Directed by Tod Browning Freaks is a bit of a melodrama about a group of circus "freaks" and a trapeze artist who goes by Cleopatra. Most of those in the traveling circus are severely disabled and deformed, whether they be limbless, legless, stunted or otherwise different. They see Cleopatra as an outsider, partially because she … Continue reading Freaks (1932)
Nine to Five (1980)
Directed by Colin Higgins The first person we meet in Nine to Five is Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), overdressed and over prepared for her first day of work as a secretary at Consolidated Companies, placed in a fairly intimidating but nondescript office building. It's one of those corporate jungles which would later turn into the mind-numbingly mundane … Continue reading Nine to Five (1980)
Patriot Games (1992)
Directed by Philip Noyce It's easy to get Patriot Games mixed up with any other number of Harrison Ford action movies, whether it's Witness, The Fugitive, Air Force One, Frantic, Presumed Innocent, Clear and Present Danger, etc. In these movies he plays a gruff, over the hill agent of some kind who finds himself involved in a dangerous plot out … Continue reading Patriot Games (1992)
Mandy (2018)
Directed by Panos Costamos Mandy is a lean and mean revenge thriller, light on plot but heavy on motivation. Like with John Wick the need for revenge is made clear with only a few storytelling beats, however the film takes its time getting there, choosing instead to emphasize the acid trip of a world created for … Continue reading Mandy (2018)
The Salesman (2016)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi The title comes from Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman. Emad and Rana are husband and wife, both in the staged play and in their own lives. Willy Loman's journey parallels Emad's as both men lose their grip on their environment, soon followed by their own frame of mind. When Rana … Continue reading The Salesman (2016)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Directed by Nicholas Ray The first third of On Dangerous Ground is a film noir. Filmed almost exclusively at night on the slick, sparsely-populated streets of New York, the story follows three detectives led by our unsympathetic antihero Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan). The black and white film is harsh all over. Jim acts more like a … Continue reading On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Point Blank (1967)
Directed by John Boorman Lee Marvin works on autopilot, but in a good way, in John Boorman's Point Blank. He scowls and leers his way through a revenge mission, playing the part of the ghost everyone assumes him to be after he was once left for dead. Marvin plays Walker, a man who is a little … Continue reading Point Blank (1967)
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