Falling in love with someone unexpectedly can already be quite a challenge, and it only becomes more excruciatingly difficult when the person who grows into the object of your affections proves to have manufactured the entire situation as part of some scheme to bamboozle and bewilder. This is the core narrative foundation of Magic in…
Category: comedy
I’ll Do Anything (1994)
By the time it reached the mid-1990s, James L. Brooks was in a good place in Hollywood – he had directed some of the most notable films of the 1980s in the form of Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News, had radical successes with shows such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Simpsons…
Let’s Get Lost (2022)
Who of us haven’t had the fantasy of just standing up, abandoning whatever work or scholarly pursuit we have been forced into following in order to feel like a valuable member of society, and simply walking away into the distance, escaping the everyday hassle that comes with modern life? For the main character in Let’s…
Preschool (2026)
As any parent will say, there is no limit on how far they will go to give their child a good future, even if it means putting themselves in considerable emotional, physical or financial strain. Every parent wants their offspring to have a better life than them, which is one of those rare universal experiences…
53 Sundays (2026)
There are a few universal themes that propel the majority of art, and very few are quite as resonant as that of family, for the sole reason that we can often find other very common themes (such as love, death and companionship) reflected in these stories, but very rarely the inverse. No matter the configuration…
Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War (2002)
We all desire to be seen and acknowledged for our merits and achievements in some way, but there are some who struggle when it comes to being recognised, mainly because they primarily live in the shadows, whether as a result of their own decisions or those of the other people in their lives. There exists…
Nickelodeon (1976)
While in principle it is not a good practice to speak ill of those who have passed, we often find that certain stories resonate slightly more once someone has died. After his death a few years ago, there were countless stories about the genius of Peter Bogdanovich, perhaps the person many of us would choose…
Funeral Kings (2012)
Growing up is never a particularly simple journey, but it is made marginally easier by the presence of a good friend or two with whom you can tackle life’s challenges. There is nothing quite as important as a meaningful companion, especially when navigating your adolescent years, which prove to be a difficult time for any…
As Young as You Feel (1951)
As the well-worn adage goes, some of us work to live, whereas others live to work. The concept of labour as the foundation of any functioning society is something that we’ve found debated in every arena, from political machinations to philosophical thought, all of which set out to determine the merits and shortcomings of dedicating…
A Piece of the Action (1977)
A brief disclaimer: A Piece of the Action is a film that co-stars Bill Cosby, a notorious figure whose fall from grace has been well-documented. While I maintain the importance of separating the art from the artist in most instances, it is also vital that it is made clear that by covering this film, I…
The Postmodern Pelican 