John Mason (James Stewart) is a hard-working lawyer who works for Judge Joseph M. Doolittle (Charles Coburn), a prickly veteran of the legal industry who makes sure to put all his employees to work, and rarely, if ever, rewards them with anything other than the bare minimum. He has high expectations for John, who he…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Flawless (1999)
The absolute gall that Joel Schumacher had in naming this film Flawless, when it is anything but free of shortcomings, would be frustrating had it not been a work that had a lot of soul to it. I’m very divided on this film – on one hand, it is an overwrought and inconsistent story that…
I’m Still Here (2010)
It’s always fascinating to be a part of a historical event, and look back at reports and discussions on that particular era that you lived through, even if only as a mere observer. One of the more memorable that I can remember is Joaquin Phoenix’s announcement in 2009 that we would be stepping down from…
The Marriage Came Tumbling Down (1968)
Jericho (Michel Simon) is quite excited to be receiving visitors. A retired veterinarian and widower, he lives alone in his beautiful countryside mansion, in which he has every luxury (as well as enough of a reputation to be part of the high-society, cavorting with politicians and nobility in the same way ordinary people would with…
Blithe Spirit (2021)
When it comes to literary icons, few define British theatricality more than Noël Coward, who remains the gold standard for many playwrights, directors and actors. His career was long and filled with sojourns into nearly every genre and medium that was available to him, and found a niche within the world of literature that few…
Miracles of Thursday (1957)
The films of Luis García Berlanga covered a wide range of different topics and genres, and looked into a variety of ideas that presented us with some distinct masterworks of Spanish cinema. However, one component that they all shared is that they were produced under the guise of being the director’s exploration of the society…
The Remains of the Day (1993)
A brief personal story to preface this review – when watching The Remains of the Day recently, I was struck by memories of a very particular time in my life, probably somewhere in primary school. Whenever the question would come up in class about what we wanted to be when we grow up, my classmates’…
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
Nell Forbes (Marilyn Monroe) is a young woman looking for any way to make a few dollars. Her uncle (Elisha Cook Jr.) manages to get her a temporary job, as a babysitter to a wealthy tourist couple currently staying at the hotel in which he works as an elevator operator. The mild-mannered Nell seems like…
Xanadu (1980)
If the last two decades in film discourse have taught us anything, it’s that we must not be hasty in judging a film, especially those that are more ambitious than we’d expect them to be, or those which seem to be doing something radically different, which audiences have a tendency to write off as being…
Paradise Now (2004)
Unfortunately, Paradise Now (Arabic: الجنّة الآن) hasn’t aged particularly well, despite being something of a sensation at the time of its release. Perhaps it’s the fact that it courted more controversy than was to be anticipated, or that the film isn’t always free of some glaring flaws the distract from an otherwise compelling story. Yet,…
The Postmodern Pelican 