I do wish I knew what Sidney Lumet was trying to do with Serpico, but from the looks of it, not even he was entirely sure. Most definitely not a bad film by any means (in fact, it has moments of excellence consistently throughout), but rather one caught between genres and tonal shifts, whereby it…
Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein (2019)
Sometimes, we find ourselves blessed with an unexpected gift. Earlier this year, Netflix continued to prove themselves as not only one of the most rapidly-ascending entertainment providers but also the facilitator of some truly astounding and original pieces. It came in the form of an obscure short film that bears the masterful title Frankenstein’s Monster’s…
Villa Amalia (2009)
Life is full of mystery, and there are certain things we can never truly understand: are we alone in the universe? What is the meaning of life? Is there a higher power? These are the questions that keep me up at night, or least they used to up until yesterday. These existential quandaries have now…
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
There’s a certain sensation I very rarely get when watching a film – as much as I love cinema, I’ve been conditioned to the fact that many movies are really great, and you start to develop an inability to be truly amazed by films as regularly as you used to, with that childlike wonder seemingly…
Conversation Piece (1974)
Conversation Piece is the kind of film that reminds someone precisely why they love cinema. I know it definitely evoked deep and visceral emotions deep within me when watching it. Luchino Visconti had the ability to create the most hypnotic, beautiful expressions of existential issues, and in crafting this film, which is unquestionably one of…
My Little Loves (1974)
Daniel (Martin Loeb) lives a very pleasant life. He grows up in the French countryside, under the care of his loving grandmother (Jacqueline Dufranne), where he spends his day engaging in beautifully reckless childhood activities with his coterie of friends. He is a young man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life because that is…
Alice in the Cities (1974)
“Taking pictures is a way of proving things. Waiting for the image to develop, I was often filled with a strange unease. I could hardly wait to compare the picture with reality. But comparing them wouldn’t reassure me either. As the still images were always overtaken by reality“ Reality is one of the most pivotal…
Claudine (1974)
Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a single mother living in Harlem with her six children. She has to work extremely hard to make ends meet, with her meagre earnings from her job as a domestic worker for a rich suburban family not being anywhere close to enough to support her family, and thus she has to…
Scenes from a Marriage (1974)
In the pantheon of great cinematic artists, there are few that can hold the prestige and pedigree as Ingmar Bergman, whose reputation as one of the finest filmmakers to ever work in the medium is undoubtedly and thoroughly earned – over the course of a career that lasted half a century, he blazed a trail…
The Mountain (2019)
Rick Alverson truly embodies the idea of outsider art – his films have digressed so far from anything even remotely understandable or normal, and extend further from the very definitions of independent filmmaking, defying even the most transgressive of filmmakers. Yet, his work is always so astute and brilliant and demonstrates an individual with one…
The Postmodern Pelican 