Reviews of films
The shadow of assassination, even as it haunted America, seemed a perennial threat in postwar Europe. The ’60s and ’70s saw France, Italy, West Germany and Spain wracked by leftist terror groups and rightist paramilitary organizations, with government repression and … Continue reading The Paranoid Style in Cinema: The Day of the Jackal (1973, Fred Zinnemann)
Day 5 Jojo Rabbit is an indelible miracle of a movie. Taika Waititi’s carefully crafted dramedy about an unathletic, bullied, ten-year-old Nazi true believer (Roman Griffin Davis, the precocious young discovery of 2019) being raised by a single mother (a … Continue reading TIFF 2019 Part 2: Jojo Rabbit Is a Masterpiece Edition
In Which You Should Check Out Blues Hammer If I were a smarter writer I would have saved this entry for much further down the road. Perhaps on the sunset of this series of articles. Not only does Terry Zwigoff’s … Continue reading Millennial Malaise 33: Ghost World
This movie is stupid. Available in Canada, the United States, and maybe some other countries. Approximately 90 minutes. High school girls, Sakura, Asuka, Miku, and Fuyumi have formed a film club called High Kick Angels with teacher Tanaka as … Continue reading WTF ASIA 73: High Kick Angels (2014)
Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. We have long since finished the animated films so we have moved on to the live action films. The title comes from … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Live-action Edition. The Black Hole
Continuing with my non-Hallmark detour, today’s film was flagged to me by a family member. Amazon sent her a notification that this film was out. She does not watch these sorts of movies, so I don’t know what Amazon was … Continue reading Not Hallmark: Santa Girl Recap/Review
“When you’re analyzing lesbian films, you do need to re-arrange your standards.” ~ Pink News What was the first tragic lesbian film? Possibly 1931’s Maedchen in Uniform. What were Hollywood’s first happy lesbian romances? Possibly 1982’s Personal Best and 1984’s … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Lesbian Romcoms
The time has come: once again I find myself in the Great White North, Mama Mordor in tow, to watch the best, hopefully not the worst, and potentially the weirdest of what the world of cinema has to offer in … Continue reading TIFF 2019 Part 1, or: That Time I Saw Nicolas Cage Singing, Live On-Stage, at 2 AM
November 22, 1963 was a defining event for a generation of Americans. John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas became a national trauma, experienced collectively through media as a later generation endured 9/11. Nor did the event offer catharsis: Lee … Continue reading The Paranoid Style in Cinema: Executive Action (1973, David Miller)
In Which You’re More of a Vibe The 90’s were a nostalgic time. Not like the nostalgia we have now, which yearns for a past of simplicity and relief from existential dread, but a dream of a time with purpose. … Continue reading Millennial Malaise 32: The Limey
This movie is stupid. Available…online…sort of…maybe; I borrowed the DVD from my Library system. Approximately 142 minutes. Raju was a successful industrialist on the verge of starting a 5 billion dollar project. Unfortunately, he got into a car accident, … Continue reading WTF ASIA 72: Waah! Tera Kya Kehna (2002)
Welcome to the late second edition of Late to the Party, a Hound-pitched idea where every week someone posts about an older piece of media they just watched for the first time. Lamb Dance started off last week and here’s the … Continue reading Late To The Party: Show Boat (1929)
Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. We’re finished with the animated films and have moved on to the live-action films. The title comes from a quote from Walt, … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Live-action edition. Unidentified Flying Oddball
GLAAD’s annual report shows that LGBTQ representation has been on the rise the last few years. I’ll be back to reviews next week but wanted to compile a list of upcoming shows and films. Upcoming Release Dates 8/23/2019 – Vita … Continue reading LGBT Media: Coming Soon
This positively absurd jumble of a third sequel entitled Lethal Weapon 4 sets the unpleasant tone accordingly by opening with a white cop humiliating and endangering his black partner solely for his own amusement, right after the two melodramatically engage in … Continue reading Succinct Cinema: Lethal Weapon 4 – Dangerous and Confused
Welcome to The Paranoid Style in Cinema! This will be a (hopefully) weekly column chronicling the subgenre of ’70s conspiracy thrillers. We will begin, however, with their antecedents, focusing particularly on the best-known and probably most important. We start with … Continue reading The Paranoid Style in Cinema: Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969)
Hey everybody, it’s your pal Jeremy here to say that I was incredibly busy with work and holiday stuff this week and didn’t get around to finishing (or if we’re being honest starting) the piece on The Limey. Feel free … Continue reading Millennial Malaise: Oops I was busy
I am stepping out of Hallmark Holiday Mode and back into Netflix WTF mode. As requested by an Avocado member (think sea cat), I am reviewing something called Falling Inn Love. That’s no typo in the title, my friend. That … Continue reading Netflix Garage: Falling Inn Love Recap/Review
Damn, it feels good to be a gangstow ow! OW! NO! NOT THE BASEBALL BAT! This doesn’t feel good at all. Available online. Approximately 140 minutes. Byung-doo walks into a police station and beats up his younger brother for taking part … Continue reading WTF ASIA 71: A Dirty Carnival (2006)
Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. We’ve done the animated films and we’re moving on to the live-action ones. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Live-action Edition. The Cat From Outer Space
“If the world would not accommodate homosexuals we would create our own world.” ~ Filmmaker Ron Peck Nighthawks traps a school teacher in a cycle of day time classrooms and night time gay bars. The dull first hour feels like … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Nighthawks (1978)
You must be logged in to post a comment.