Movie reviews from a film ignoramus turned fanatic.
The story of Fitzcarraldo (1982) was inspired by the real-life story of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald, who arranged for the transport of a steamship piece by piece over the mountains to the Madre de Dios basin in Peru. Of course, if that movie was made today, it would be a combination of models and... Continue Reading →
Mexico City slum. A boy is waiting for his father at the market. He's been there for days and his father told him he'd be right back. There's a mother resenting another boy, a product of rape. When you watch Luis Buñuel's films, you expect obvious surrealism, intriguing topics, and crossing of space and time... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
An outlaw wanders through a desolate area and enters a town divided by a gang war. He walks slowly and gracefully, ignoring the world around him, even in the midst of a fight. You can almost see the tumbleweed and hear Morricone's music in the background. But what you see in front of you is... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
A dead body of Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter, floats in the swimming pool at a mansion on Sunset Boulevard. In a flashback, the dead man as a narrator retells the events leading to his death. Directed by Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard (1950) tells the story of grand delusions, failure and defense mechanisms. Norma's face... Continue Reading →
One of the best-known Italian neorealism films depicts utter impoverishment and despair that leads people into committing crime. Vittorio De Sica, also born into poverty in Sora (Lazio), wanted to illustrate the poverty of post-war Italy using a new degree of realism. He used only real locations for shooting, not sets, and decided to cast... Continue Reading →
I Hated Black And White Movies 