Watching the gradual but steady ascent of Julio Torres from a mainstay on the contemporary alternative comedy scene to one of the most intriguing and ingenious creative minds of his generation has been a delight, and whether we first took note of him for his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live (where sketches…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Meatballs (1979)
Some comedies are intended to be efficient and smooth, while others are designed to be intentionally abrasive and off-putting – there is virtue in both processes, and every great comedy (as well as those that are dismal failures, but still had some semblance of logic attached to them) can be attached to one of these…
The Eternal Memory (2023)
We all long to find that one person with whom we are able to spend the rest of our lives. Whether or not one subscribes to the idea of soulmates, there is some value in the idea of encountering that specific individual that is our perfect match, or at least as close to it as…
Viceroy’s House (2017)
We all know how much cinema adores a good historical story, with the very origins of Hollywood being rooted in historical epics and period pieces that aimed to transport us to a different time and place, giving us the chance to sample from the people who preceded us. It has become a genre so saturated,…
Mad Max (1979)
Many artists have tried to construct an image of the future, and whether taking a more idealistic or unsettling stance, it has led to some tremendously entertaining and insightful films. It may not be easy to view Mad Max as a film set in the future, primarily because it was made with a shoestring budget….
City Lights (1931)
There are some artists that are not only instantly recognizable by their last name, but their association with work immediately indicates that it will be of exceptional and undeniable quality, regardless of what the project entailed. Few individuals are more iconic, both visually and in terms of artistic impact, than Charlie Chaplin – with the…
Abigail (2024)
To recapture the genre that they helped define nearly a century ago, Universal has been actively working over the years to reconstruct their monster movie department, setting out to revive their reputation for making wildly entertaining horror films that hearken back to the studio’s heyday, when they came to be known as the pioneers of…
Mothers’ Instinct (2024)
Losing any loved one that be a harrowing experience, but there is something about a parent outliving their child that is particularly devastating. Some have even said that it is nearly impossible to ever fully recover from such a tragedy, with the grief being a burden that a parent carries for their entire life. Barbara…
Chocolat (1988)
Despite having flourished into one of the most acclaimed and arguably inventive filmmakers of her generation, Claire Denis has always been quite a reflective filmmaker, someone whose work is driven by her memories and experiences of the past. The majority of her most celebrated films tend to be examinations of postcolonial Africa, which comes from…
Ricky Stanicky (2024)
Except for love, death and identity, one of the most common themes to find in fiction is that of friendship. Whether looking at the mere platonic companionships between individuals or those that become something more, literature tends to emphasize the importance of connections between individuals, particularly in the joy that comes in finding a kindred…
The Postmodern Pelican 