Background In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved into two independent states: Czech Republic (made up of the Bohemia and Moravia regions) and Slovakia. The 20th Century up until that point had been a turbulent time for the former country. After World War I, it gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and grew into a socially and economically … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 4: Closely Watched Trains (1966 Jiří Menzel)
Us (2019, Monkeypaw Productions and Blumhouse Productions) Written and directed by Jordan Peele. Music by Michael Abels. Featuring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, and Tim Heidecker. The brilliant Jordan Peele returns to the director’s chair with another horror film. This time about a family holidaying in Santa Cruz, California … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Us and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
This may be an easy question, but what do Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton all have in common? They are of course famous for doing their own stunts, but also they have each broken ankles whilst creating such stunts. The Cruise-meister recently broke his ankle on the set of Mission Impossible – Fallout … Continue reading Looking at Buster Keaton: The Marvel of Early Cinema
Green Book (2018, Participant Media, DreamWorks, Innisfree and Cinetic Media) Directed by Peter Farrelly. Featuring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini. Review 1 by Annabelle Davis Green Book follows the story of African-American jazz pianist Don Shirley (played by Ali) and his driver-come-bodyguard Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen), set in the early 1960s. Tony is a classic … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Green Book (2018 Peter Farrelly)
There are certain rules known only to a select few by which it is possible to predict the quality of movies. The origin of these rules is often obscure and difficult to explain. One rule which appeared sometime in the last two decades or so is Rule 263: Shia LaBeouf must never be allowed to … Continue reading Rule 263: Shia LaBeouf Must Never Be Allowed To Partake In Any Film That Is Good
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
Night Shift (Ночная Смена) (2018, Russia) Directed by Marius Vaisberg. Featuring Vladimir Yaglych, Pavel Derevyanko, Kseniya Teplova, Natalya Bardo and Anna Mikhaylovskaya. Night Shift (or pronounced Nochnaya Smena in Russian) is a slap-stick comedy set in St. Petersburg, Russia. The multiple script writers appear to have taken the basic premise (and a few particular scenes) … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Night Shift (Ночная Смена) and Peppermint
Venom (2018 Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures) Directed by Ruben Fleischer, featuring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed. This recent addition to the Marvel superhero/monster-menace series of films is a great box office success, but critics are harder to please. First of all, there is no doubt that Venom contains a comic-book … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Venom and Early Man
