Surprisingly, it took Albert Brooks several decades of casting himself in roles that were really thinly-veiled versions of his own life to finally play himself in one of his directorial efforts, which seemed like something that was an enormous inevitability, since even though he’s a remarkably gifted actor with a considerable amount of range, he…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
The Best Films of 2021
With the Academy Awards being held this evening, it brings us to our annual tradition of reviewing the past year in film. 2021 was certainly a tumultuous year when it came to cinema – while caution was still taken in terms of how films were released (with many distributors offering audiences the chance to see…
Early Summer (1951)
After having seen several of his films, it’s not surprising if viewers start to find the work of Yasujirō Ozu blurring together. This isn’t nearly as disparaging as it sounds – as a filmmaker who often stuck to the same set of thematic principles, and a particular directorial approach, Ozu’s films are distinct and similar…
Soylent Green (1973)
Science fiction is a genre that can either age spectacularly well, or be the subject of excruciating mockery, particularly those that take place in a realistic distance into the future. It all depends on whether the story they’re telling actually manages to be plausible enough for viewers to believe such events are possible, and the…
Petite Maman (2021)
There are few filmmakers who embody the sentiment of being the future of cinema more significantly than Céline Sciamma, who has continuously proven her incredible gifts as a storyteller and visual artist through a small but masterful body of work. Each one of her films feels like it is delicately handcrafted from her extraordinary vision,…
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
You can always tell when a filmmaker has attained a considerable standing in the industry when the simple question of “what is their best film?” seems to be almost impossible to answer. In this case, the jury remains divided on what film best represents the iconic careers of Joel and Ethan Coen, who remain amongst…
Laughter in Paradise (1951)
An old man (Hugh Griffith) lays dying – his death being notable, since he is Henry Russell, one of Great Britain’s most notorious jokers, having dedicated his entire life to elaborate practical jokes that defined his entire existence and made him something of a figure of notoriety. However, far from a selfish man, he decides…
Talk to Her (2002)
Only someone as gifted and precise in his vision as Pedro Almodóvar could make a film like Talk to Her (Spanish: Hable con ella), and not have the final result be an overwrought and vaguely perverse bundle of bizarre scenarios. Not only did he successfully tell a story that would be considered grotesque in the…
Windfall (2022)
The term “Hitchcockian” is thrown around a lot nowadays (or at least since the great master departed this mortal coil and left behind an unimpeachable legacy). Essentially, any work that has a sense of foreboding dread and extreme suspense, as well as potentially a wicked sense of humour and an abundance of peculiar twists and…
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Over the past few months, I’ve been revisiting a range of classic science fiction films, particularly those produced in the 1950s. There’s something so special about these films, with their do-it-yourself approach to the most ambitious stories resulting in the kind of chaotic art that is both entertaining and utterly inspiring. It has all led…
The Postmodern Pelican 