When the subject of “The Lubitsch Touch” is discussed, there are a few elements that immediately spring to mind. Primarily, it is the image of a well-crafted, meaningful film that combines romance and drama, produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood, but feels profoundly modern, perhaps not in its setting, but rather in its refreshing…
Asteroid City (2023)
Based on his output over the past decade, it would appear as if Wes Anderson is officially in the stage of his career where he is given free rein to do whatever takes his fancy, which has resulted in his already polarizing style becoming more obvious and pronounced, which has divided audiences and caused him…
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
I’d like to start our discussion with two conflicting opinions. The first is that Dracula: Dead and Loving It (the vampiric spoof by Mel Brooks) is far from the comedic icon’s greatest work, and quite possibly towards the bottom of his formidable career. The second is that this is far better than many have made…
Only the Animals (2019)
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…
The Postmodern Pelican 