There is a very particular sub-genre of fiction, which we can refer to as small-town noir or pastoral gothic, and which we often find occurring in a lot of European and American cinema in the years following the end of the Second World War, whereby filmmakers ventured out of the cities and chose to explore…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Bartleby (2001)
While he is mostly known for his towering tome Moby-Dick, which is appropriately considered possibly the greatest American novel ever written, Herman Melville was a much more varied writer and someone who composed several tremendous stories, many of which have gone on to become incredibly influential in their way. One of the more prominent is…
Transformers One (2024)
Over time, it has become abundantly clear that if there is a product that could even feasibly become profitable as a film, Hollywood will spare no expense in finding a way to adapt it. Not only has the industry shown interest in taking works from every conceivable medium such as literature, theatre, music and television,…
Mother, Couch (2024)
They say home is where the heart is, but domestic despair tends to be carried with you wherever you go, lingering like a spectre ready to emerge at the most inopportune moments. This is a realisation that many who have ever experienced any kind of familial strife, even only marginally, will immediately recognise as an…
Blue Steel (1990)
As far as public perceptions go, very few professions have been subjected to scrutiny and division amongst the general population than police officers – many view them as admirable individuals who pledge their lives to serving and protecting the community. In contrast, others find their constant abuse of power and tendency to resort to needless…
The Comedy of Terrors (1964)
The blurring of comedy and horror is not always an easy process, but it is one that has yielded some of the most brilliant and provocative works in the history of cinema. It takes quite a special writer and director to combine two wildly different emotions – laughter and fear – and create an atmosphere…
Nightbitch (2024)
There are few concepts simultaneously as comforting and disturbing as placid suburbia – the irresistible push-and-pull of a life defined by white picket fences and perfectly maintained lawns contrasted with the underlying knowledge that not everything is quite as it seems beneath the surface. David Lynch perhaps said it best when he stated “I discovered…
Ladies in Lavender (2004)
Everyone has their own unique opinion on what an ideal life would be, but they usually entail a daily routine that is free of unnecessary stress or challenges, and one in which you can live in harmony with yourself and whoever you choose to spend your life with. For many, the concept of living in…
Janet Planet (2024)
Time tends to move very quickly. Every one of us has had that moment where we suddenly realize just how much time has elapsed, which is both terrifying and beautiful in its way. Annie Baker has a fascination with time and the impact it has on people, as evident through her work as a playwright,…
Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951)
In the canon of great American filmmakers, one name that you will rarely (if ever) see come up in conversation is William Marshall, who was both fortunate and profoundly unlucky to have been working at a time when any competent filmmaker would be hired to direct projects across a range of genres, and their ability…
The Postmodern Pelican 