Dominik Moll may have only made a small handful of films over the course of his three-decade career (having directed just over half a dozen films over the past thirty years), but it seems entirely appropriate, considering he is one of the most intense filmmakers working at the present moment. His films are rough, harrowing…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
When it comes to sequels, taking risks doesn’t always have the best results. There are some sequels that improve on the previous film, particularly when following one that wasn’t particularly good to start with. There are those that remain at more or less the same level, and are usually viewed as being part and parcel…
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
John Huston was a director whose career lasted so long and stretched across multiple different generations that even suggesting that he was at some point a newcomer seems quite absurd, since he is undeniably an institution on his own, someone whose work stretched from the classical era to the period of New Hollywood and beyond….
Julieta (2016)
There have rarely been any artists whose work is simultaneously so distinctive yet entirely impossible to define than Pedro Almodóvar, which is perhaps why he is unquestionably one of the finest filmmakers of his generation. He tells stories that are rich and vibrant in their humanity, but navigate challenging socio-cultural concepts that draw on both…
The Bad News Bears (1976)
The sports genre is one that has proven to be extremely divisive, with some absolutely adoring these films, while others being far more cynical. On a personal level, I have rarely found films centred around sports to be all that compelling – they are usually formulaic to the point of being outright predictable, and they…
Showing Up (2023)
At this point in her career, Kelly Reichardt has more than proven herself as one of the essential cinematic voices of her generation. Over the past quarter of a century, she has told intimate and personal stories that are guided by her distinctly human approach to storytelling, being a pioneer of minimalist cinema, and one…
Irma Vep (1996)
You have to admire the absolute gumption that Olivier Assayas demonstrated when he set out to make Irma Vep. His admiration for the brilliant Maggie Cheung was so sincere, he constructed an entire film around her in order to work with her, which led to a very promising partnership between the two artists, which extended…
My Little Chickadee (1940)
When constructing a comedy, there are always guides that supposedly set the standard for effectively extracting laughs by following a specific formula that they claim guarantees audiences will embrace what they’re seeing and feel compelled to seek out even more similar works – and in an era where a lot of comedies were built on…
Fool’s Paradise (2023)
While it may not be a universally exciting occurrence, but I am always fascinated when comedians decide to step behind the camera and make their directorial debut, which is often a moment in which great cinematic voices are born. It’s certainly more interesting when they go against the grain and direct in a completely different…
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Our continued adventures with Indiana Jones and his motley crew of collaborators and co-conspirators have taken us to Europe, after voyaging to North Africa and Asia in the two previous films – and this time, our beloved historian and adventurer is in search of the Holy Grail, the very definition of an elusive historical artefact….
The Postmodern Pelican 