Many filmmakers have made their name by making stylised documentaries - Micheal Moore, Werner Herzog, Adam Curtis, Amy Berg, Joshua Oppenheimer, Nick Broomfield, Alex Gibney and Errol Morris are all big names that come to mind. Indeed, style derives from the individuals and can often take away from the content of their documentaries. But I … Continue reading The Focus of Film: 8 Documentaries with a Cause
Over time, the Western films of Hollywood expanded outwards. Many were made in Europe by Italian and Spanish directors (Spaghetti Westerns). Some were adaptations of Japanese Samurai films (The Magnificent Seven). Some were set in Mexico and required drugs to understand (El Topo). Even Communist Eastern Europeans were fond of making their own Westerns that … Continue reading The Western Story – Part 2: Beyond the Frontier
Americans like to think Western movies are about their history, and they therefore cherish them greatly. But the Western was in fact an early construct of dramatic motion pictures. Edwin S. Porter directed a short film in 1903 called The Great Train Robbery. This was a milestone in film making because it established action on … Continue reading The Western Story – Part 1: Into the West
The Two Popes (2019, Netflix) Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Screenplay by Anthony McCarten. Featuring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins Whether the thought of a film about two highly powerful men at the helm of an institution plagued by allegations of abuse and mass deception repulses you or not, I would still insist you watch The … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Two Popes and Uncut Gems
Win Win (2011, Tom McCarthy) – From the director of the wonderful The Station Agent from a few years previously (the first time I delighted in Peter Dinklage's talent), this was a perfectly adjudged comedy drama focusing on the evolving relationship between a troubled kid (Alex Shaffer) and a struggling lawyer/part-time wrestling coach (Paul Giamatti). … Continue reading The Most Underrated Films of the Past Decade 2010-19
Middling films of the year There were three particular movies from three acclaimed and barrier-breaking directors that I believe could have done more than they did this year. Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma was beautiful, affecting and imbued with symbolism, but it lacked the magic of some of his earlier stuff. The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos was … Continue reading Review of the Year 2019 in Film
There are still some numpties in the world who presume that the reason why so few women direct films is because they are not that good at it. Doesn’t really justify a response but…holding back the urge to slap these people in the face, one may instead point towards the remarkable filmography of Kelly Reichardt. … Continue reading Kelly Reichardt: A Filmmaker of This Time
“In the movies, I always played the heroic types. But when the stage lights went out, it was time for drugs and stupidity, and the coveting of women. Now it's time. Time to be a little of what I had always fantasised of being: a hero.” Bubba Ho-Tep is not only the best film with … Continue reading Midnight Movies, Part 4 – The King is Alive in Bubba Ho-Tep
Okay, first things first: cockfighting, as with any blood sport that encourages cruelty towards animals, is disgusting and inhumane. For those who don’t know (and are expecting something euphemistic here), a cockfight involves two specifically bred roosters, sometimes strapped with razor blades to their feet, placed in a ring to brawl, often to the death, … Continue reading Midnight Movies, Part 3 – Warren Oates as the Cockfighter
Amy Scott’s recent documentary celebrating the life and work of the late director Hal Ashby, simply called Hal, may have slipped by without you noticing. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and received a limited release late last year. Scott must be commended for making a tender and celebratory ode to an … Continue reading Peace and Love: The Wonderful Films of Hal Ashby
