There are those who say everyone should be forced to pay the consequences for their actions. Others believe that everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. In between these two extremes, we have the story of William Hayes, a young man who was caught smuggling hashish from Turkey while on his way back to…
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
It seems to be a universal experience to want to be able to leap out of our ordinary lives and instead pursue a supposedly more exciting existence, which plays into the idea that being entirely content with your life is very rare, and the majority of us have broader and more enthralling expectations or dreams,…
Hokum (2026)
The idea of leaving your home and seeking refuge elsewhere, whether temporarily or for a longer stretch of time, is meant to offer reprieve from reality, a chance to escape and see another part of the world. Yet, many of us have experienced trips that are anything other than luxurious, which usually come when there…
The Most Beautiful Day (2024)
Regret is something that we are often forced to carry with us, and which often proves to be impossible to get rid of as time progresses. We often feel guilt for our past actions, whether intentional or accidental, and it’s often those that come about through unintended circumstances that can be the most harrowing. This…
Is God Is (2026)
When it comes to revenge, there seems to be a roughly equal number of statements that celebrate the joy of a well-conceived vendetta as there are those that warn against the destructive nature of allowing a grudge to manifest into something tangible. Yet, we simply cannot stop exploring the subject, whether in fiction or reality,…
Hoppers (2026)
While I’d not consider myself a dissident, I have been open about how critical I am of the form Disney and Pixar have taken over the last couple of decades, going from producing the gold standard in animation and mastering the art of family-oriented storytelling, to a shrill shadow of their former glory, another cog…
Invisible Ghost (1941)
One of the great injustices of the genre hierarchy that was so prominent during the Golden Age of Hollywood was that the supposed prestige films, such as westerns and melodramas, were promoted as being the most integral to every studio, whereas those shafted to the category of B-movie were seen as lesser achievements, and only…
Y tu mamá también (2001)
There are some filmmakers who defy categorisation, since their versatility in terms of skill and tendency to explore a wide range of stories has often allowed them to challenge conventions, going in pursuit of something deeper and more profound, regardless of which genre in which they’re working. Very few directors have been able to achieve…
The Owl and the Pussycat (1970)
I love stories that take place over a single period of time, whether an individual night or a slightly longer stretch, where everything is contained into something slightly more manageable. I once recall driving through a city at night with a friend, and remarking to him how I am still waiting to have my own…
Holy Days (2026)
There’s an old adage I’ve heard bandied about in the film industry from time to time – when all else fails, put a nun in the movie. Has there ever been a group of people more affectionately relegated to the status of human props more than the brides of Christ, whose distinctive manner of dressing…
The Postmodern Pelican 