In terms of artistic icons that left behind an indelible legacy in the global culture, there are few more notable than James Dean, whose tragic demise at the age of only 25 signalled one of the most distinct movements towards idolizing an actor, one not seen since perhaps the death of Rudolf Valentino at the…
They Live by Night (1948)
They Live by Night represented a start for a couple of people in the film industry, namely being the first leading role for Farley Granger, who had previously had minor roles in a couple of smaller wartime times (with this coming in the same year as his star-making performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope), as well…
Funny Pages (2022)
Every now and then, we encounter a film where the very act of simply starting the conversation is a challenge. Owen Kline’s directorial debut, Funny Pages, certainly matches the description, being a work of singular vision that defies logic, and instead goes in pursuit of something much deeper – and figuring out precisely what it…
Edge of Seventeen (1998)
There’s nothing quite as liberating as the feeling of finally being able to exist authentically. For the majority of people, this is a seamless process that often just entails finding your place in the world and adhering to the status quo. However, there are those that tend to struggle with their identity, which can sometimes…
A Patch of Blue (1965)
When you first take a look at A Patch of Blue, you’d be forgiven for thinking it to be yet another run-of-the-mill “message” movie, a film that deals with social issues in a way that may be earnest, but it also often overwrought with how it discusses some very important topics. Guy Green was not…
The Nowhere Inn (2021)
If there had been a scenario where David Lynch was tasked to make a contemporary riff on This is Spinal Tap, chances are that it would look very similar to The Nowhere Inn, the absolutely ingenious and brilliantly subversive satire that was directed by Bill Benz, who was essentially standing in service to Annie Clark…
Gods and Monsters (1998)
The Golden Age of Hollywood is filled with stories of the fascinating individuals that made it such a curiously interesting time to be alive, allowing future generations to live through these often scintillating (and sometimes even vaguely implausible) parables that are often told through rose-tinted glasses, almost as if to imply the industry was far…
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Greed does not do a man’s body or soul any good. One of the most potent representations of this very idea comes in the form of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, John Huston’s ambitious and sprawling adaptation of the novel by B. Traven, which tells the story of three impoverished American men that risk…
Sharp Stick (2022)
You have to give credit to Lena Dunham – for around a decade, she has withstood an endless stream of controversies, ranging from the lack of nuance on her television show Girls or the questionable morality she demonstrated through her autobiographical writings. Not necessarily a defence of Dunham, especially since many of these criticisms do…
A Hen in the Wind (1948)
There are some that consider A Hen in the Wind (Japanese: 風の中の牝鶏) to be one of the more minor efforts in the notoriously prolific career of Yasujirō Ozu – and while it is easy to adhere to this belief based on the scope of the film (considering how this was the final film he made…
The Postmodern Pelican 