There are just some films that fill you up with a sense of joy and wonder, with their most prominent quality being the fact that they’re able to captivate the viewer and take them on a beautiful journey, without needing to become too focused on the details. One of the most exemplary instances of this…
American Utopia (2020)
The trouble with being someone who almost entirely lives to consume art is that there are certain creative individuals who make such an profound impact, describing what they mean to you is often a daunting process, if it is even possible at all. Personally, I have become so enthralled by the work of two very…
Enola Holmes (2020)
Anyone who is able to take a relatively likeable but slight novel aimed at young adults, and turn it into a riveting adventure that the entire family can enjoy is worth paying attention to, so it only stands to reason the people behind Enola Holmes are Jack Thorn, the writer tasked with continuing the legacy…
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
When it comes to Aaron Sorkin, you normally get exactly what you pay for – by-the-numbers stories that are heavily focused on political or other highly-resonant cultural situation, with predictable plot points and an array of interesting characters that are very often portrayed by actors who are giving performances that belong in much better productions….
Blood Is Dry (1960)
When thinking of films that look at the role the media plays in shaping our perception, many tend to gravitate towards Sidney Lumet’s Network, which is widely considered one of the finest satires ever committed to film. The passionate, furious monologues delivered by the incredible Peter Finch in the role of Howard Beale, and his…
Purple Noon (1960)
Seemingly without realizing it, Patricia Highsmith created one of literature’s most enigmatic figures in the form of Tom Ripley. What is even more bewildering is how he has rarely been cited as such, normally being a figure that many people adore, but not on the same level as many of the great literary antiheroes of…
The Housemaid (1960)
When it comes to discussing films that take a very strange approach to their premises, The Housemaid (Korean: 하녀) sits perched comfortably at the very top. It is the apex predator of psychological thrillers of its era, an intrepid meta-commentary on social issues that boldly goes where very few films would dare to go, especially…
Pasolini (2014)
“I think to scandalize is a right, to be scandalized is a pleasure, and those who refuse to be scandalized are moralists.” Like many of his statements throughout the years, the words above have come to define Pier Paolo Pasolini as an artist. A filmmaker and writer who I myself have had difficult feelings towards,…
The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020)
When playwright Radha Blank didn’t see people like her reflected on screen, she decided to take matters into her own hands, rather than waiting around to see a story like hers produced. Independent cinema tends to allow for this kind of intrepid risk, and while many such filmmakers tend to fade into obscurity after initially…
Eternal Beauty (2020)
Jane (Sally Hawkins) has not led the most pleasant life. When she was younger, she was victim to the malice of others, most notably being left at the altar after her husband-to-be abandoned her at the last minute, which comes almost concurrently to her time as a participant in local beauty pageants. She has now…
The Postmodern Pelican 