Allow me to be perfectly honest for just a second: the reason I loved Ingrid Goes West so much is not that it is a great independent dark comedy with great performances and a fascinating execution of its twisted story, nor because it is a subversive twist on the classic stalker-thriller trope. The reason I…
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
In all honesty, there hasn’t been a filmmaker that sky-rocketed into my pantheon of personal icons quite as fast as Martin McDonagh. I fell in love with his films based only on In Bruges, one of the most deliciously twisted dark comedies ever made, and I followed that film up (albeit not in chronological order…
Columbus (2017)
I am not someone averse to elaborate and advanced filmmaking, with blindingly spectacular special effects and an unbelievably high budget, used over a lengthy and exhausting period of production. Laborious, time-consuming and expensive filmmaking was what Hollywood was built on and continues to thrive on. However, as I have never made it a secret before,…
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok begins with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor speaking to what appears to be the audience, followed by an encounter with a malicious fire demon that threatens to bring an end to Thor’s home of Asgard. Then there is an epic battle scene set to Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”. This was the moment I realized the…
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Who doesn’t love a good Cold War-era espionage thriller? I must admit that I am quite a devotee of the period, and I always have been fascinated by works of fiction that locate themselves within that period. John le Carré has, for a very long time, been one of the foremost figures in Cold War…
Alien (1979)
Dear readers, what would my career as a cinephile and film writer be without occasional hesitant admissions towards terribly embarrassing cinematic blind-spots? It would be almost non-existent, and I really do have quite a confession to make today – up until tonight, I had never seen a single film in the Alien franchise, and while I…
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
There is something so delightful and satisfying of seeing a film go through its stages of development, and then finally watching the film after having followed its production so closely, albeit from a distance. I have been a fan of Noah Baumbach since I saw his incredible The Squid and the Whale over a decade…
Meantime (1983)
One of the reasons I admire Mike Leigh and consider him one of the greatest writers and directors of all time is the manner in which he presents reality through his films. Each of his films, while differing in tone and central plot, are exquisite meditations on reality and the problems with living in a specific…
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
In 1982, Ridley Scott redefined science fiction with his adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in his groundbreaking neo-noir Blade Runner. Now 35 years later, we have finally been able to enter into that incredible futuristic realm that Scott created, this time through the eyes of one of the greatest…
Matchstick Men (2003)
There is sometimes nothing I love more than a good crime thriller, and normally heist or con films seem to take the position as some of the most entertaining films, as they rely on some very cheap but exciting thrills that doesn’t require too much from the audience except a little attention. It also helps…
The Postmodern Pelican 