There is quite a bit that can be said about The Square. Ruben Östlund’s endearing 150-minute odyssey into the pretentious world of contemporary art is one of the most singularly unique and original films of the year, a film with a certain atmosphere that critiques both the cultural elite and the mainstream populace in a…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Another Year (2010)
Allow me to be completely frank: Mike Leigh is a cinematic genius and has made some of the greatest films of all time. He is the filmmaker responsible for making the film that I consider quite possibly my personal favourite of all time (the astonishing Naked), and I have yet to encounter a film by…
The Shape of Water (2017)
I will break from convention, and begin this review with a quote that struck me as extremely powerful: “[The Shape of Water] is a healing movie for me…For nine movies I rephrased the fears of my childhood, the dreams of my childhood, and this is the first time I speak as an adult, about something…
The Post (2017)
One of my more controversial and contentious opinions in regards to cinema is that I never quite bought into the idea that Steven Spielberg was some cinematic doyen, an elder-statesman of quality (and as of late with his one-film-a-year output, quantity) cinema. Many of his more enduring films, such as Jaws, Raiders of the Lost…
Lady Bird (2017)
One of the most pleasant surprises of the previous year in cinema was the unexpected moment where independent mumblecore cinema goddess Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial Lady Bird became the most acclaimed film at the time (as of writing this, that honor belongs to the delightful Paddington 2), becoming almost universally-praised, which not many saw coming…
Quiz Show (1994)
1994 was an absolutely astonishing year for cinema, and many of my favourite films of all time were released that year – Pulp Fiction, Ed Wood, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Chungking Express all made their mainstream debuts over the course of that one extraordinary year. However, in all honesty, there…
Lucky (2017)
Despite being one of the most straightforward and simple films I’ve seen in a while, it is difficult to speak about Lucky in a way that actually makes sense. There are some films that are almost celestial in how perfect they are, and while I don’t through around the word “perfect” very often, Lucky is…
The Polka King (2018)
There are very few things in life that bring me as much joy as dark comedies set in quaint small towns, especially when they are based on true stories, and Jack Black plays an individual beloved by the entire community but is soon reviled for his criminal activity. Bernie was somewhat of a shocking revelation…
Snow Angels (2007)
I have had a very complicated cinematic relationship with David Gordon Green. He has made such cinematic misfires as Your Highness and The Sitter, as well as the funny (albeit entirely lacking in cultural significance) stoner film Pineapple Express. I enjoyed the latter, but have nothing but utter disdain for the former. Yet, for every…
The Honeymoon Killers (1970)
In the late 1960s, Martin Scorsese – at that point working as a director for hire, only having directed Who’s That Knocking at My Door, a deeply personal film, two years before – was relieved of his responsibilities from helming The Honeymoon Killers, based on the true story of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, and…
The Postmodern Pelican 