Over the course of their existence, Studio Ghibli has primarily been defined by two instantly recognizable names – Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, the two masters who laid the cornerstone for the studio and worked laboriously to define it over a few decades. However, while we can appreciate and adore their work, it is sometimes…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Noises Off (1992)
Very few would ever dare deny that Peter Bogdanovich was one of the greatest directors of his generation – a hardworking filmmaker who was able to run the gamut in terms of projects, directing in many different genres and oscillating between deeply personal works and those that would be a perfect fit for a journeyman…
Trap (2024)
It’s been roughly a decade since M. Night Shyamalan released The Visit and essentially became respectable again, regaining a sense of acclaim that he earned earlier in his career when he was proclaimed a wunderkind based on his promising debut. He lost this status gradually over time after a run of notoriously awful films that…
Of Freaks and Men (1998)
There comes a point in Of Freaks and Men (Russian: Про уродов и людей), where we have to wonder whether director Aleksei Balabanov knew what he was doing, or was simply surrendering to the absolute absurdity of a premise that was already far from plausible, to begin with. However, what can’t be denied about this…
20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
For some filmmakers, documentaries are an opportunity to take a subject that they find fascinating and explore it to either entertain or inform, if not both. For others, it’s an opportunity to learn more about a particular topic that they believe should be seen by a wider audience. Then there are those filmmakers who see…
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
One of the wisest pieces of advice that I have ever encountered was when I was told that the only person stronger than the one who fights is the one who manages to resist since it takes more strength to remain stoic than it does to react in anger. Obviously, this is a nebulous concept…
The Late Show (1977)
In 1973, Robert Altman directed The Long Goodbye, which was a contemporisation of Raymond Chandler’s novel that once again followed the exploits of Phillip Marlowe as he makes his way through a nightmarish version of Los Angeles. Beyond being a terrific film in and of itself, it was also a watershed moment for a genre…
One Fine Morning (2022)
There have been few filmmakers more dedicated to the subtle art of exploring everyday life than Mia Hansen-Løve, who has constructed an entire career out of a very specific kind of delicate, earnest social realist drama that strives for authenticity and in the process provides meaningful insights into the lives of ordinary people as they…
Suspicion (1941)
While he was only officially crowned as the Master of Suspense midway through his career, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most effective thrillers was made relatively early in his career. Suspicion (based on the novel Before the Fact by Anthony Berkeley Cox), which the director crafted alongside a writing team consisting of Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison…
The Fabulous Four (2024)
About a decade ago (if not slightly earlier, it’s certainly up to debate), there emerged a new trend in cinema – assemble several iconic actors who are perhaps slightly older than they were at their peak, and place them in an effervescent, charming comedy that doesn’t push their boundaries or challenge them in any way,…
The Postmodern Pelican 