In my review for Things to Come, I called Isabelle Huppert the greatest actress in the world. I don’t think I have ever uttered something more truthful, and my belief in this fact is only amplified by the fact that Huppert is frequently beyond outstanding in nearly everything she does. Perhaps it is her performance…
Category: Drama
It’s Only the End of the World (2017)
Oh, Xavier Dolan. How is it possible that there is a filmmaker so talented, yet so unbelievably messy in some of his cinematic pursuits? I jumped at the opportunity to watch It’s Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde) while I was in Europe, and I have to say that despite…
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Last February, Leonardo DiCaprio won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Now while I do follow awards season, I don’t use that as a barometer of quality, and I try and keep awards prospects out of my reviews of films, because some of the best films never came close to the Academy Awards. The reason…
Captain Fantastic (2016)
In a cinematic landscape where nearly every mainstream film is a remake, reboot, re-imagining or sequel, or an adaptation or true-life story, independent cinema constantly comes to the rescue, creating fascinating and original stories. One such film is Captain Fantastic, one of the most bizarrely wonderful little films I’ve seen in a while, and proof…
Things to Come (2016)
Is there any doubt that Isabelle Huppert might just be the greatest actress in the world? Never before has there been such an extraordinary actress, capable of being so incredibly complex and layered. She has been having quite the year, with Paul Verhoeven’s Elle bringing Huppert to a higher level of fame in the English-speaking…
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Who doesn’t love a good period drama? Certainly, the epitome of period drama has to come from Jane Austen adaptation – there have been many, and whether they are good or bad, they are still selfishly enjoyable and a lot of fun to watch. They’re not too serious, and luckily they are usually very well-made….
The Girl on the Train (2016)
The Girl on the Train is the silliest movie I’ve seen all year. I also, in a very strange way, really enjoyed it. It was a campy, ridiculously overblown and often very pompous mess of a film, and for that, it is truly very enjoyable. To be honest, I really doubt any of us really…
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
There is a moment towards the end of The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motocicleta) where our two protagonists get on a boat and sail down a river. In front of them, on the island they just departed, stand dozens of lepers, all waving towards these two men. It is single-handedly the most heartbreakingly emotional moment…
Margaret (2011)
Many people seem to have so many differing opinions on what is the greatest film of the 21st century – and the BBC recently bestowed that honour upon Mulholland Drive, a high point (perhaps the highest point) in the career of David Lynch. One film that has been tossed around as being one of the…
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
I am not someone who thinks that any film adaptation of a book is superior to its source material, but I am also not someone who vilifies the practice. I do think there are some truly extraordinary cinematic adaptation of great books (such as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, which border on being…
The Postmodern Pelican 