Who of us doesn’t love a good underdog story? There is something so compelling about those tales of outsiders and oddballs defying the odds and emerging victorious, and while these are often very predictable, they can be quite endearing, especially when done well. One recent example of how effective such a film can be when…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
La Cage aux Folles (1978)
While it is a genre that has gone in many different directions, when it comes to comedy, there are a few films that are considered not only deeply important, but essentially function as cultural touchstones, reflections of social and historical moments that are much deeper than just works of humour. La Cage Aux Folles is…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Over time, the premise established by Robert Louis Stevenson in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has become so taut and over-worn, it is a surprise anyone has been able to find a new perspective with which to approach this story, especially since it has been subjected to every conceivable genre coming…
Rye Lane (2023)
New filmmakers emerge every year, and while it is always heartening to see that the medium is going to be left in good hands after the old masters transition out of the industry, it isn’t often that we find someone who is so indicative of the future of cinema to the point where just watching…
The April Fools (1969)
If there is a subject Hollywood adores more than people falling in love, it is the process of falling out of it, which has been the starting point for several engaging and fascinating films over the course of the past century. Naturally, in its earliest years the idea of marital trouble or relationships being on…
Chicken Run (2000)
Few styles of filmmaking have undergone quite as interesting a shift over the past few decades as animation – the nostalgia of classical, two-dimensional animation combined with efforts to increase what is possible with technology and other different styles has made it a formidable industry all on its own, with every year yielding magnificent works,…
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The transition from journeyman screenwriter who worked primarily under the guidance of your artistic hero to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time is certainly not easy, but yet Billy Wilder managed to make it seem like the most enjoyable experience imaginable. It would be a challenge to find anyone who enjoyed his craft…
Modesty Blaise (1966)
When the decision was made to adapt Modesty Blaise, the critically acclaimed and extremely popular comic series by Peter O’Donnell, which focuses on a career criminal employed by the government to help bring other criminals to justice, Joseph Losey was neither the obvious pick to direct, nor was he the first choice. However, through a…
Return to Seoul (2022)
There have been few better examples of a filmmaker immediately announcing themselves as a major talent than this year, when Davy Chou introduced the world to the absolutely astonishing and deeply profound Return to Seoul (French: Retour à Séoul), a film that immediately and without any hesitation becomes of the year’s greatest artistic achievements in…
Living in Oblivion (1995)
If you take any random assortment of around a dozen films, it’s more than likely that at least of them will look at the process of filmmaking itself, whether taking a positive or critical stance on Hollywood and its theoretical surroundings. By this point, it’s almost impossible to keep track of such projects, since it…
The Postmodern Pelican 