What a year it has been. I really feel like I need a long break. They said Covid was over, but it was not. It’s still here and it’s still not nice. Fuck Covid! But I guess one’s treatable Covid pales in comparison to whole countries ravaged by war, which seems to be the evil … Continue reading 2023 – Another Year in Film
Often seen as a stepping stone to the more experimental sixties, the fifties offered some low-key cinematic experimentations in itself. Hollywood continued to focus on their traditional popular genres like Musicals and Westerns, but even in those parameters one can determine some variation and expansion taking hold. And this was mostly down to a subtle … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1950s
A lot of things changed in the 1940s. The physical and mental landscapes of the world’s population was massively impacted by the events of war. Despite this, we can be very grateful that movies were still made throughout that time, and in many cases they tell a story of that turbulent period both on- and … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1940s
Anna Christie, an adaptation of a Eugene O’Neill play, was the first big Hollywood release of the 1930s. It starred the Swedish icon Greta Garbo in her first talking role, and it delivered her famous line at the beginning of the film: ‘Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby!’ … Continue reading Travelling Through Time: The Best Films of the 1930s
The FurnaceWritten and directed by Roderick MacKayFeaturing Ahmad Malek, David Wenham, Baykali Ganambarr, Trevor Jamieson, Gary Young, Mahesh Jadu and Jay Ryan It is very encouraging that the three most critically acclaimed films to come out of Australia over the past three years have been films that tackle the brutal colonial history of the country: … Continue reading The One Review: The Furnace (2020 Roderick MacKay)
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
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
There has always been an appetite for provocative subject matter in movies. Whether that comes principally from the will of the audience or the will of the creator is a matter of debate. When I say provocative subject matter, I mean anything that intentionally veers from the mainstream path and entices the viewer into challenging … Continue reading Midnight Movies, Part 1 – The Acid Adventures of El Topo
Okay so you have some time to kill and you don’t what to waste your time watching crap on TV. By the same token you’re knackered after work or whatever and you can’t be bothered with some arthouse horseshit where you’ll spend a week wondering if you understood the subtext or even worse… a documentary … Continue reading Saturday Afternoon Movies, Part 2 – Outland (1981 Peter Hyams)
Momentary Cinema 