Any film that prominently uses Thomas Dolby’s new wave masterpiece “She Blinded Me with Science” is automatically going to be considered worthwhile, even if the general consensus behind it is that it represents the kind of misguided attempt at an intelligent blockbuster that we often see coming in the wake of major franchises and their…
The Red House (1947)
Nothing is quite what it seems in the world of The Red House, the fascinating film by Delmer Daves that combines many different genres in its pursuit of some deeper meaning. Whether or not it finds it is another matter entirely, especially when it becomes increasingly clear that something is amiss with the world in…
A Love Song (2022)
When it comes to the concept of love, has there ever been something so universally acknowledged, but yet singularly impossible to define in clear terms? Everyone from existential philosophers to those in the arts has dedicated a large portion of their time to unpacking the phenomenon that is love, particularly the act of falling for…
The Eagle with Two Heads (1948)
Jean Cocteau was an artist whose name immediately brings one of two projects to mind – we immediately associate him with either the gorgeous 1945 version of Beauty and the Beast (the finest version of that story told until Angela Carter reconfigured it many decades later), or his Orphic Trilogy (consisting of Orpheus, The Blood…
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
It is necessary to start this review with a disclaimer. Unfortunately, one of the reasons behind Uptown Saturday Night being relatively under-discussed in recent years has to do with the fact that this is a buddy comedy, in which one half of the central duo is played by someone who has deservedly fallen out of…
Dead for a Dollar (2022)
One simply cannot discuss New Hollywood without talking about Walter Hill. A filmmaker whose career as a director and writer stretches back to the very beginning of the movement that helped the industry develop into the ambitious cultural utopia it is seen as today, his legacy is undeniable, even if his films tend to vary…
Leap of Faith (1992)
Faith is a fascinating concept – few ideas have divided the population for centuries more than religious belief, especially the kind of blind faith that many religions are impelled to portray, which has led to many cynical conversations about how one can believe in something that is not tangible. However, it has also created a…
Blonde (2022)
It is an unimpeachable fact that Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most recognizable, iconic figures of 20th-century culture, a face that has adorned every conceivable kind of media across nearly every country around the world. Yet, did we ever truly know who she was? Her legacy is one that is unfortunately defined by the…
Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
You simply can’t look at the work of Yasujirō Ozu and not discuss the impact of the Second World War on the stories he told. He was a filmmaker that may have rarely addressed the war directly, but rather crafted stories that were situated around the time, focusing on the social and cultural changes brought…
The Munsters (2022)
They often say that comedians are very adept at horror, since they understand the dark places from which humour comes from better than most. However, we can also invert this idea and see whether it is applicable from the other way around – can those more well-versed in horror make effective comedies? One person who…
The Postmodern Pelican 