Oh boy, am I tired of defending Inherent Vice. I have been anticipating this film since it was announced years ago. I adore Thomas Pynchon, I adore Paul Thomas Anderson and I adore Joaquin Phoenix. They are my cinematic dream team. There was no way I would be disappointed with a film involving these three…
Category: comedy
Wolf (1994)
If you follow Movies Unchained regularly, you’ll know I consider Jack Nicholson to be one of the finest actors of all time, and perhaps the greatest living actor, and it breaks my heart when I remember that he hasn’t made a film since 2010. Of course, we all know Jack for his masterful performances in…
Wild Tales (2014)
Anthology films are so rare these days, which is a shame because they are such an interesting concept – short films with a loosely common theme, telling different stories in a confined space. It is a refreshing way to tell a story, because no longer does a writer and director have ninety minutes to tell…
Song for Marion (2012)
Every year, without a doubt, comes a few films that are a rare combination of comedy and drama. They may address subject matter inherently saddening, but the film in itself, through story and intention, is the epitome of that taut phrase “feel-good”. Whether they are good or bad is irrelevant, as a film’s true worth…
Night Shift (1982)
Hey, remembers the ’80s? I don’t, because I wasn’t around then. But I still get my fair share of the culture of the iconic decade through two mediums – music, and of course film. The 1980s were a time where romantic comedies were smart and funny, where there were songs by Burt Bacharach, and while…
This Is the End (2013)
The end of the world (or more notably known by the ominous title “the apocalypse”) has always been something we, as humanity, have feared, never knowing when it will come, or if it will actually come, and if there is an end in the books. Every few years, some loon comes out of the woodwork,…
Julie & Julia (2009)
Its been a while since I reviewed a truly feel-good film. All the reviews over the last few weeks have all been excellent, but had the shadows of intense social issues hovering over them – losing religion, racism, bullying, crime, the failing of the education system and, well…whatever Nightcrawler was. Therefore, it was really an…
A Birder’s Guide to Everything (2014)
Being a film fan is an interesting hobby, because you sometimes need to go through some really dreadful stuff before finding something amazing, and sometimes what surprises you the most is a film that comes out of absolutely nowhere. For me, getting pleasant little surprises like this is what motivates me to keep on doing…
Submarine (2010)
With the increase in international entertainment becoming distributed by mainstream production companies, more and more British films are becoming popular, and allowing smaller films to be made because of the increase in funding. One of those films is the adorably quirky Submarine, which was written and directed by comedian Richard Ayoade. It proved to be…
Frank (2014)
As I am sure a lot of you know, I have a very special place in my heart for independent cinema, and it makes me giddy to discover some new, unique piece of independent cinema, mainly because they don’t have the promotion of bigger films, and can spring up on you out of nowhere. Frank…
The Postmodern Pelican 