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
What would you do with half a million bucks? Maybe buy a nice house, purchase some hot wheels, or perhaps take the family away on a luxurious cruise? Would you spend it on a movie about aliens? Yes, you would?...okay, good to know and thanks for dropping by, Roger Corman. It’s not a small amount … Continue reading Midnight Movies, Part 2 – Shooting Up Into A Liquid Sky
As Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) reminded us, America in the 1950s could be an uncomfortable and unpleasant time. Not yet fully recovered from the physical horrors of World War II and deep into the psychological terror that was spread about Communism and the threat of nuclear war, this was … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 7 – Hell and High Water (1954 Samuel Fuller)
It is a quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon. You’ve got the house to yourself for the first time in ages. You don't have the energy for mayhem and chaos. You’re just going to stay in and watch a movie. But what movie? What are you in the mood for? And is your mood likely to change? … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 1 – Firefox (1982 Clint Eastwood)
Absolutely everything! Well, when they are done well that is. One fresh example is They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson’s recent, extraordinary and awe-inspiring documentary presenting World War I footage. Painstakingly restored with colour and realistic sounds added, this film is composed entirely of archival footage from the British National Museum and a soundtrack … Continue reading War Films, What Are They Good For?
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
Mary Queen of Scots (2018 Focus Features and Working Title Films) Directed by Josie Rourke. Featuring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, David Tennant, Guy Pearce, Jack Lowden and Joe Alwyn. Mary Queen of Scots is a period drama set in the second half of the 16th Century about the troubled reign of Queen Mary of Scotland … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Mary Queen of Scots and The Front Runner
The Children Act (2018, FilmNation Entertainment and BBC Films) Directed by Richard Eyre. Featuring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Fionn Whitehead and Ben Chaplin. Based on a novel by Ian McEwan. This English-set drama follows the traumatic life choices surrounding religious objections to blood transfusions by Jehovah Witnesses. Seventeen year-old Adam (Whitehead) is dying and only … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Children Act and Vice
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
On Chesil Beach (2018, Number 9 Films, BBC Films & Lionsgate) Directed by Dominic Cooke, based on a novel by Ian McEwan, featuring Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle, Emily Watson, Ann-Marie Duff and Samuel West. The film On Chesil Beach is a romantic drama based on the short novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. It is … Continue reading The Two Reviews: On Chesil Beach and BlacKkKlansman
