Celebrating Women's Day, try to remember at least a dozen female directors. It's probably not going to be an easy task for most of us – injustice still happening today. If you want to make a change, then a poignant but rousing feature First Cow (2019) by Kelly Reichardt might be the right start. Be... Continue Reading →
There’s really nothing here for most of us: Pig (2021)
A thriller drama directed and written by Michael Sarnoski in his directorial debut follows a chef turned truffle forager, whose pig goes missing. Honestly, I was in because I've expected Nicolas Cage to follow the path of a vengeance-driven John Wick, but with a pig. Maybe some truffle pasta. However, it's a poetic and pensive... Continue Reading →
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Everything is silent. Suddenly, you hear a crescendo of drums. A scream. A whistle. One of the most memorable theme songs, created by a sound magician named Ennio Morricone, instantly makes you both on the edge of your seat and with bated breath. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il... Continue Reading →
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
You know the story: James Stewart is George Bailey, a man who has given up everything in his life to help others, while Henry Travers is Clarence Odbody, his guardian angel, here to intervene and show him how different and sorrowful would everybody's life be if he had not been born. It became an instant... Continue Reading →
What kind of man are you, don’t you even like dolphins? Zorba the Greek (1964)
You are going to see a woman stoned just because a man killed himself because she slept with another man. You are going to see people taunt a widow just because she did not remarry. You are going to see the awful reality of past times. But then you hear the first two notes. Ta-dam!... Continue Reading →
There has been blood: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
Imagine a woman in her 50s dressed as a baby doll, singing a children's song to her daddy inside a dark cellar. Forget on-screen love chemistry and imagine the bad blood, resentment, and bitter hatred. The daring casting of longtime enemies who often tried to steal each other's thunder – Bette Davis and Joan Crawford... Continue Reading →
Dust to dust: Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957)
A colonel is bravely walking through the trenches. Men are curled up against the walls. Some of them watch the skies since it might be the last thing they see. Most of them are mindlessly staring at the ground. Every single one of them is covered in dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. It's... Continue Reading →
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
As soon as the credits started to roll, I thought that Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York (2008) was the worst movie ever made. It felt so pretentious and I was bored to death. Two years later, I rewatched it and it became one of my favorite movies. Have I changed, or did the universe somehow... Continue Reading →
Here’s looking at you, kid. Casablanca (1942)
There isn't a movie that so much quoted and misquoted at the same time as this one. Being neglected during its initial run, Casablanca (1942) exceeded all expectations, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, and became one of the most memorable films of all time. Directed by Michael... Continue Reading →
Where reason ends. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Directed by Robert Mulligan, and based on Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) simply tells a story about justice, in a way similar to Lumet's masterpiece 12 Angry Men, but different in overall tone. However, this is not a courtroom drama. This is a snapshot of injustice, bias, racial segregation, and a strong... Continue Reading →