“There’s a name for you ladies, but it isn’t used in high society…outside of a kennel.” The sheer amount of individuals I’ve encountered over the years that claim to have been radicalized by George Cukor’s The Women is absolutely staggering, but far from surprising. In his capacity as one of Hollywood’s most lovable eccentrics, Cukor…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Hidden Away (2021)
If you have never heard the name Antonio Ligabue, you are not alone. Despite being an incredibly gifted artist whose talents seemingly knew no bounds, his life was notoriously plagued with personal problems, with his physical ailments preventing him from leading a functional life in pre-war Italy, and his mental disorders being the cause of…
This Gun for Hire (1942)
This Gun for Hire isn’t a particularly great film, but it certainly knows exactly what it needs to be. As a film noir, it is relatively conventional – a solid thriller with an abundance of twists and turns, and a bunch of charismatic individuals peppered throughout it. Frank Tuttle did well in adapting the novel…
French Exit (2021)
There is something so peculiar about French Exit, a quality that entices the viewer as much as it repulses us. Perhaps it’s the grotesque portrayal of these characters, who we should thoroughly abhor, but simply can’t bring ourselves to even vaguely hate, since simmering beneath their hedonist bourgeois existence are very real individuals with genuine…
The Last Days of Disco (1998)
1998 was a surprisingly solid year for Studio 54, the notorious New York City nightclub known for its exclusive clientele, and for being a shining beacon of the disco era before its initial closure in 1980. Nearly two decades later, two films were produced that were intent on capturing the spirit and energy of the…
Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)
Like most of the world, my first encounter with Bo Burnham was through his comedy specials, where he was essentially just a charming young comedian in his early twenties, playing the keyboard and reciting a variety of peculiar songs, interspersed with hilarious anecdotes that fit his particular brand of humour. These very very funny, and…
The Rocket from Calabuch (1956)
Professor George Hamilton (Edmund Gwenn) is a profoundly gifted scientist who has been working tirelessly with the American government to produce new technological innovations that will help push them further on the global scale. However, he is upset and chagrined to realize that his work is being used to develop weapons of mass destruction. Not…
Beasts Clawing at Straws (2020)
A faux-Gucci bag filled with money, half a dozen eccentric characters, an abundance of violence and the good sense to weave it all together are the essential components of Beasts Clawing at Straws (Korean: 지푸라기라도 잡고 싶은 짐승들), the deliriously funny and perverted dark comedy by South Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-hoon, who crafted one of…
Qivitoq – Fjeldgængeren (1956)
Cinema affords every viewer the opportunity to be both a time-traveller and a world explorer, giving us the chance to see different cultures through the lens of many notable artists from around the world. The process of experiencing something we have never seen before is incredible, especially when the film surrounding it is so strong….
The House of Yes (1997)
There is a reason The House of Yes, the ambitious but controversial play by Wendy MacLeod, has somewhat faded into obscurity, only really being known to those devoted to lesser-known stage plays – but it has nothing to do with the content of the story, but rather the depths to which it is willing to…
The Postmodern Pelican 