Shoplifters (2018, Gaga Pictures Japan) Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Featuring Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jō, Miyu Sasaki and Kirin Kiki. I have always found the award winners from the Cannes Film Festival to be a far better representation of the best films from around the world than the Oscars. Winners of the … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Shoplifters and The Favourite
In overview for the year, the worst films I watched were burdensome with clichés or else just outright tasteless, while the best films I watched had qualities that were original, quirky and heartfelt. Many of these more favoured films tapped into current global concerns (e.g. the shit-fight of ideologies in the US; relations between the … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s Review of the Year 2018 in Film – Part 2
'2018: The Year of Okaaaay Films' By Robin Stevens I have reviewed around 20 new releases for the blog this year. There were some good films, some interesting films and some poor films, but overall there were a lot of films that were okaaaay. What I mean is that far too many of these films … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s Review of the Year 2018 in Film – Part 1
Ever since my mid-teens, the music of Pink Floyd has had an immense impression on me (I thank my older brothers David and Paul for their encouragement). So this post is really just an excuse to talk about their music through the largely tenuous, but admittedly relevant, link of films - films, of course, that … Continue reading Absolutely Curtains: The Movies of Pink Floyd
I suppose the artistic medium of film has been experimented with ever since the early pioneers. For the first 20 years of the 20th century at least, most films were seen to be an experiment. But once the studios of Hollywood established formulas and ensured that films were presented to the public on a manageable, … Continue reading Film Experiments: From Buñuel and Deren to Lynchian and Dogme 95
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, 20th Century Fox and New Regency) Directed by Bryan Singer (completed by Dexter Fletcher). Featuring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello and Mike Myers. Bohemian Rhapsody is a very credible biopic of Freddie Mercury and the rock band Queen - from simple beginnings to global popularity. I don’t … Continue reading The One Review: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
A Star is Born Directed by Bradley Cooper. Written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters. Featuring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay and Rafi Gavron. Since the turn of the 21st Century, musical movies have been carried on in the Hollywood tradition as per normal. There has, however, … Continue reading The Two Reviews: A Star is Born (2018 Bradley Cooper)
Faces Places (2017) Directed by Agnès Varda and JR. Written by Agnès Varda (in French with subtitles) If you don’t know who Agnès Varda is, then I would recommend you check out some of her movies. She turned 90 this year and has been making provocative and artistic films since the early 1950s. She was … Continue reading Documentary Review Special: Faces Places (2017 Agnès Varda and JR)
Prologue – A Man With No Name This is the story of a story. Not the whole story of course just the highlights. The greatest stories are timeless. They crop up again and again. Christopher Booker, in his 2004 book, described seven basic plots. Leo Tolstoy thought that there were only two: a man goes … Continue reading Akira Kurosawa meets The Man With No Name
If you happened to miss the films A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (released in 2014 and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour) and Under the Shadow (released in 2016 and directed by Babak Anvari), get thee a copy of both immediately and watch them. They are, by my determination at least, two of the … Continue reading Shadows of the Night: Two Progressive Iranian-based Films in the Western Mainstream
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