At the altar of Japanese animation stand two masters – Hayao Miyazaki (who is near retiring from filmmaking) and the late Isao Takahata, both of whom are almost universally considered the gold standard for an entire nation’s cinema, and the success it has seen all over the world. However, they’re not the only ones who…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Bye Bye Morons (2021)
There are a few films that find their most significant strength also being their biggest weakness, as is the case with Bye Bye Morons (French: Adieu les cons), a fascinating but flawed film by Albert Dupontel, who puts together a really compelling story, but seems to falter in one particular area: he doesn’t seem to…
Death of a Cyclist (1955)
A secluded patch of road somewhere in the idyllic countryside is suddenly the site of a major collision between a car and a cyclist, with the former striking the latter, causing an enormous accident. The occupants of the car are concerned about having possibly killed the cyclist, but decide they can’t stick around to find…
Candyman (2021)
“Say his name” As far as I’m concerned, Candyman is one of the greatest creations in horror history, with Clive Barker’s fascinating tale of a vengeful spirit that wreaks havoc after being summoned by anyone brave enough to say his name being an indelible part of slasher movie history. This was made abundantly clear by…
Please Give (2010)
Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a longtime couple who run a relatively successful furniture store, which they stock by visiting various estate sales of recently deceased individuals. Alex sees very little problem in profiting off property that no one wanted anymore, but Kate is more reluctant, especially since they intentionally don’t disclose…
Beau Geste (1939)
While his name may not be known to many people outside of aficionados of early Hollywood history (and even then, it may not be as obvious as it would seem), William A. Wellman will always be considered part of film history for directing arguably one of the defining works of silent era cinema, the incredible…
La Ciénaga (2001)
At the intersection between class and sanity resides La Ciénaga, the ambitious directorial debut of Lucrecia Martel, one of the most important South American directors of the last few decades. She weaves together a story of a bourgeois family that spend their leisure time luxuriating at their secluded summer home somewhere in pastoral Argentina, which…
The Green Man (1956)
The title The Green Man might not be familiar to many viewers, who might (on hearing of it), expect it to be some strange, provocative science fiction thriller, since it evokes such images, as well as being made during an era where these films were at their peak. However, in reality, the film is a…
Drunken Master (1978)
There are two genres of films that I think have managed to achieve the status of showcasing the full extent of what the human body is capable of doing. The first are the musicals produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood, where the lives of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and a wealth of…
The White Lotus (2021)
We all need to break from tradition from time to time, especially when the occasion calls for one to do something different. While I normally focus on reviewing film, sometimes another project comes around that is so special, it impels me to put pen to paper and write about it, especially if there is something…
The Postmodern Pelican 