At a cursory glance, Tender Mercies does not seem like a particularly noteworthy film – designed mainly as a vehicle for Robert Duvall, who was at the peak of his career as an actor, having been dominant in a range of films throughout the 1970s that made him one of the most sought-after actors working…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Pearl (2022)
Comparison can sometimes be a major impediment to the process of appreciating art, especially when it comes to looking at two works that share similar sources or creators, and where one is far better than the other – it can become less of a case where we are celebrating the superior one on its own…
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Sidney Poitier was a revolutionary by every definition of the word – as an actor he broke boundaries, and as a social activist he spent decades fighting for marginalized communities, using his status as one of the most prominent artists of the past century to influence and challenge oppressive structures, which often included taking on…
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)
One of the more peculiar trends that we see happening in film comes when we realize that there are certain instances where specific years tend to be particularly strong in terms of looking at a particular subject, which is rarely intentional. 1957 is likely the best year for media satires, solely due to the fact…
Alcarràs (2022)
One of the first images we see in Alcarràs, the stunning sophomore effort by the talented Carla Simón, is that of a group of children playing in a car, which has been abandoned near a reservoir somewhere near their home, which sits at the heart of rural Catalonia, in the region that bears the title…
M3GAN (2023)
As the famous saying mostly utilized when discussing the subject of friendship goes, “people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime – while others are built to give you companionship and then attempt to violently murder you and everyone you love” – or at least this is what M3GAN would…
The Fighter (2010)
There was a period that lasted around a decade between the mid-2000s and the end of the 2010s, in which one of the most popular genres for films were those that centred on boxing – they weren’t confined to this period, but this is when they were arguably at their peak, each one seeming to…
Georgy Girl (1966)
At some point, we have all heard “Georgy Girl” by The Seekers, which stands as one of the most cherished and distinctive songs of the period fondly known as the Swinging Sixties. The lyrics “Swinging down the street so fancy-free/nobody you meet could ever see the loneliness there inside you” perfectly encapsulates the carefree lives…
7 Women and a Murder (2022)
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery – and it would appear that Alessandro Genovesi certainly wanted to honour François Ozon in the form of 7 Women and a Murder (Italian: 7 donne e un mistero), which is an almost shot-for-shot remake of Ozon’s iconic 8 Women, which is in the upper echelons…
Cry-Baby (1990)
The most revolutionary decision John Waters ever made was to go mainstream. For most filmmakers, it would be ideal to make works that are embraced by the general public, but when it comes to Waters, it almost feels like an act of defiance. He was a filmmaker that made a career through being provocative, so…
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