Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a soldier that is under the employment of the US government, reporting into the apparently morally-superior Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who is actually a potential warlord, having successfully developed a virus that he will eventually disperse into the world’s population as a form of biological weaponry. Simmons, realizing these…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Juno (2007)
Juno is a very important film for several reasons, most of all for its legacy. A quaint and charming independent comedy in its own right, it worked alongside Little Miss Sunshine to inspire over a decade of imitators, films that embrace their independent spirit and more twee nature and exploit them in conjunction with the…
Thanos and Despina (1967)
The Greek countryside at some point in the 1960s – Thanos (George Dialegmenos) is a young man who works as a goatherd for his rural community, coming from a long line of manual labourers and shepherds, including his deceased father, who died from what appears to be over-exertion under the employment of Vlahopoulos (Tzavalas Karousos),…
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
J. Pierrepont Finch (Robert Morse) is a humble window-washer that stumbles upon a book that answers all the burning questions that he’s been asking himself for years, mainly “how to succeed in business” – this quick guide to climbing the corporate ladder becomes a sacred text to the ambitious young upstart, who follows the rules…
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Everyone wants their art to become iconic – there’s nothing quite as special as the moment in which your work becomes definitive of the particular art form, regardless of the specific area in which you operate. However, the challenge that comes with this kind of reputation is the tendency for the work to become so…
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
“A person can run away from anything, but not from his destiny” It’s a familiar story – a very successful person (normally in the entertainment business) is at the top of their fame, and are absolutely adored by the masses. They encounter a younger, unassuming individual, who they subsequently transform into a sensation of their…
Accident (1967)
Stephen (Dirk Bogarde) and Charley (Stanley Baker) are a pair of university lecturers who differ in both personality and fundamental ideology – Stephen is a reserved intellectual who has been married for years and is about to welcome his third child into the world, while Charley is more of a playboy, someone who is willing…
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Jacques Demy was a profoundly fascinating figure when it came to his directorial output. One of the defining figures of the French New Wave, he never quite stood in the same thematic territory as some of his contemporaries, with his work being incredibly unique, and idiosyncratic to the point where no filmmaker has ever managed…
Hue and Cry (1947)
“How I loathe adventurous-minded boys” London in the late 1940s – the Blood and Thunder Boys are a mischievous bunch of teenage boys (and one girl) who spend their days scurrying through the bumbling streets of London, where they narrowly avoid trouble in their various misadventures. They’re bound by their sacred text, the weekly pulp…
Sideways (2004)
Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a middle-aged high school English teacher who is at his wit’s end. He has recently written a novel and is anxiously awaiting to hear a verdict as to whether he will be able to publish it. To get his mind off his daily distractions, Miles recruits his best friend, Jack (Thomas…
The Postmodern Pelican 