There was a joke that used to frequently go around my corner of the playground when I was younger, namely that there are only two examples of pure genius when it comes to making music – Ludwig von Beethoven and “Weird” Al Yankovic, with the comparisons between the two not being nearly as tenuous as…
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Contrary to what many people may believe, crafting any work of well-made romance is a challenge. This isn’t applicable to the endless stream of cheap, disposable stories that think that lust and desire are adequate stimuli for a relationship, but rather those rare works that touch on issues much deeper than carnal cravings. Few texts…
Causeway (2022)
Coming home can either be a joyful event or a melancholic affair, depending on the circumstances that surround it. The concept of homecoming is a regular theme in films centred around soldiers, whether those that depict them fighting on the battlefields hoping to survive so that they can return home after the war has ended,…
Little Big Man (1970)
When it comes to titles, few are as appropriate in describing a film as Little Big Man, a film of staggering length about a very small and supposedly inconsequential individual whose voyage through various stages of American history have made it one of the more cherished works of the New Hollywood movement. Directed by Arthur…
Railroaded! (1947)
One of the wonderful by-products of early film noir and gangster storytelling is that the viewer learns an abundance of new terms and concepts that may have gone out of fashion, but remain eternal, preserved in the cinema that was designed to entertain audiences of yesteryear, but have somehow managed to remain relevant until the…
The Silent Twins (2022)
For several decades, the story of June and Jennifer Gibbons has been the subject of a lot of conversation, with their mysterious lives being the source of an enormous amount of analysis as behavioural psychologists, linguists and a range of other investigators tried to determine the root of their condition that caused them to go…
Bus Stop (1956)
I’m not one who is typically known to lament the Golden Age of Hollywood in a way that discredits the current state of the industry, since there is a lot of value in any era of cinema, and those who complain about how the “good old days” of filmmaking are behind us are often quite…
Wendell & Wild (2022)
“Everyone has demons…mine just have names” It always feels like a major event when a beloved and acclaimed auteur returns to filmmaking after a lengthy break. Whether it was a case of reneging on a previously-announced retirement, or the fact that they couldn’t acquire either inspiration or financial means to make another film for a…
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
When a director has as wide and varied a career as Woody Allen (where he was essentially directing one film a year at his peak), we often find that there is an enormous debate about what their best film is, which is not made any easier when they show such a remarkable aptitude at every…
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Ruben Östlund is one of our greatest living filmmakers, and someone whose artistic integrity and profound curiosity as a storyteller have allowed him to explore a wide range of complex themes. From his early works that were steeped heavily in social realism, to his depiction of a marriage in trouble in Force Majeure (his breakthrough…
The Postmodern Pelican 