Assault on Precinct 13 reaffirmed something that I’ve slowly started to believe is less of an opinion and more of an unquestionable fact – John Carpenter is one of the most visionary filmmakers of his generation. While his cinematic career will deservedly be defined mainly through the lens of his two horror masterpieces Halloween and…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Duelle (1976)
Jacques Rivette’s Duelle is an intersectional film, existing at the nexus of various audacious ideas – fantasy and film noir, fiction and reality, life and death, and absolutely everything in between, finding itself very often in the margins of several conflicting, almost contradictory themes. A chilling but poignant work occurring towards the end of the…
Smile Orange (1976)
The Mocha Beach Hotel sits on a tranquil shoreline in the seaside region of Jamaica. Tourists from Europe and North America flock to this hotel to take in the gorgeous scenery and the vibrant night-life around the city, where they are given the chance to experience Jamaica from the perspective of its inhabitants. Smile Orange…
Ma (2019)
Ma is garbage. Lurid, gaudy and almost as if the entire concept of artistic integrity has been insulted by this grotesque, excessive expression of immorality and unhinged incredulity to everything considered honourable and decent. It also is one of my favourite films of the year, and most certainly the most entertaining film I’ve seen in…
Toy Story 4 (2019)
The Toy Story films have always been a part of my life. The first film was released when I was a child, and I eagerly watched the adventures of Sherriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear over the years, seeing them go from one film to another, constantly being captivated by these sentient toys and their charming…
Grass (2019)
“In the end, people are emotions. Emotions are gullible and forceful. Precious, cheap and alluring. And I long for them now“ These are the words appearing, via voice-over narration, towards the end of Hong Sang-soo’s Grass (Korean: 풀잎들), a subtle, meditative film that sees the South Korean maestro revisiting many common themes in his distinctive…
Booksmart (2019)
Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are on the eve of their high school graduation. The previous four years have been challenging for the two friends, who have prioritized their grades in order to ensure that they get into good colleges, which does work, with the duo being well on their way to starting…
Family Plot (1976)
If any filmmaker deserved to be named the greatest of all time, Alfred Hitchcock would certainly not be a bad choice. There are so many reasons to revere him – his films were always of the highest standard, and his work spans from the silent era, right through to the latter stages of New Hollywood,…
Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)
With his controversial 1976 masterpiece, Who Can Kill a Child? (Spanish: ¿Quién puede matar a un niño?), Narciso Ibáñez Serrador not only shocked audiences, but he also established himself as one of the most profoundly strange filmmakers working at the time, with this film cementing his status as someone who prioritizes subversion of common ideals….
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) leaves his Brooklyn home behind in 1953, heading to Greenwich Village, which (according to our protagonist) harbours “fame and fortune”, with his perceived destiny to become an actor. Over the course of a few months, the young man finds himself hopelessly out of his depth, but nonetheless resilient and resourceful, doing…
