If any filmmaker deserved to be named the greatest of all time, Alfred Hitchcock would certainly not be a bad choice. There are so many reasons to revere him – his films were always of the highest standard, and his work spans from the silent era, right through to the latter stages of New Hollywood,…
Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)
With his controversial 1976 masterpiece, Who Can Kill a Child? (Spanish: ¿Quién puede matar a un niño?), Narciso Ibáñez Serrador not only shocked audiences, but he also established himself as one of the most profoundly strange filmmakers working at the time, with this film cementing his status as someone who prioritizes subversion of common ideals….
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) leaves his Brooklyn home behind in 1953, heading to Greenwich Village, which (according to our protagonist) harbours “fame and fortune”, with his perceived destiny to become an actor. Over the course of a few months, the young man finds himself hopelessly out of his depth, but nonetheless resilient and resourceful, doing…
Freaky Friday (1976)
The Andrews are an ordinary suburban American family. They are lead by patriarch Bill (John Astin), a publicity whizz who is chasing after a particularly important contract. The key to earning it comes in the form of his wife, Ellen (Barbara Harris), a tightly-wound housewife, and daughter Annabel (Jodie Foster), a rebellious teenager whose academic…
The Little Mermaid (1976)
I often wonder how the original authors of fairytales would react when presented with the different ways their stories have been interpreted over the years. One writer, in particular, I wonder about is Hans Christian Andersen, who is responsible for some of the most legendary stories of folklore and fantasy ever written, with his work…
Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Nicky (John Cassavetes) is a low-level heavy for a notorious New York City gangster. When a hit goes wrong, Nicky’s relationship with the mob becomes sour, and he develops the notion that he is going to be killed. Paranoid beyond belief, he calls the only person who can help him, Mikey (Peter Falk), who he…
A Wedding Suit (1976)
The perpetual drunkard and constant cinematic genius W.C. Fields once famously quipped that when it comes to making movies, “never work with animals or children”. How wrong he was – there certainly have been instances where working with them has resulted in disaster, but some of the most compelling performances ever committed to film have…
Broken Flowers (2005)
Don Johnston (Bill Murray) should, by all means, be a happy man. He is quite wealthy, having made a fortune in the computer business. He is in his retirement years, content to live them out in relative peace. However, things start to decline rapidly – his girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) grows weary of his dour,…
Kinky Boots (2005)
Sometimes, its enough for a film to just be fun and nothing else – not everything can be audacious, challenging cinema. On occasion, I’ll venture into a film that I know will have very little impact other than being a diverting good time, and that’s more than adequate when the mood calls for it. Kinky…
Under the Silver Lake (2019)
“Our world is filled with codes, subliminal messages – from Silver Lake to the Hollywood Hills” This quote is the centrepiece of Under the Silver Lake, David Robert Mitchell’s extraordinary pop culture odyssey ripped straight from the pages of some of the greatest works of speculative postmodern fiction. A dizzying neo-noir with an electrifying performance…
The Postmodern Pelican 