I often talk about films that have their reputations preceding them. Films such as Citizen Kane, The Godfather and Star Wars are films so ingrained in our culture as filmgoers, it doesn’t really matter if we haven’t seen them, the important thing is that we feel like we have. There are, of course, other films…
Wolf (1994)
If you follow Movies Unchained regularly, you’ll know I consider Jack Nicholson to be one of the finest actors of all time, and perhaps the greatest living actor, and it breaks my heart when I remember that he hasn’t made a film since 2010. Of course, we all know Jack for his masterful performances in…
Wild Tales (2014)
Anthology films are so rare these days, which is a shame because they are such an interesting concept – short films with a loosely common theme, telling different stories in a confined space. It is a refreshing way to tell a story, because no longer does a writer and director have ninety minutes to tell…
An Appreciation of…Joaquin Phoenix (1974 – present)
This one is a record-breaker folks. In the past, I have honored such luminaries in cinema as Mike Nichols, Kevin Spacey and Roger Ebert. All people at the top of their craft, who have been working for decades, changing the art of cinema in their own way. The latest honor goes to Joaquin Phoenix, who…
Song for Marion (2012)
Every year, without a doubt, comes a few films that are a rare combination of comedy and drama. They may address subject matter inherently saddening, but the film in itself, through story and intention, is the epitome of that taut phrase “feel-good”. Whether they are good or bad is irrelevant, as a film’s true worth…
The Best Films of 2014
The Academy Awards have just been announced, and to cap off the year, I though I would post my annual Top 10 list a little earlier, instead praising the films I feel were extraordinarily special, added a lot to the cinema canon and did amazing work to entertain, thrill and excite us. I will first start with…
Starred Up (2014)
Prison films are a horrid, but very popular, subgenre of films these days. One of the most iconic films of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, is a prison film. The hottest show on TV at the moment, Orange is the New Black, is centered around a prison. There are many prison films, including the overlooked…
Night Shift (1982)
Hey, remembers the ’80s? I don’t, because I wasn’t around then. But I still get my fair share of the culture of the iconic decade through two mediums – music, and of course film. The 1980s were a time where romantic comedies were smart and funny, where there were songs by Burt Bacharach, and while…
This Is the End (2013)
The end of the world (or more notably known by the ominous title “the apocalypse”) has always been something we, as humanity, have feared, never knowing when it will come, or if it will actually come, and if there is an end in the books. Every few years, some loon comes out of the woodwork,…
Julie & Julia (2009)
Its been a while since I reviewed a truly feel-good film. All the reviews over the last few weeks have all been excellent, but had the shadows of intense social issues hovering over them – losing religion, racism, bullying, crime, the failing of the education system and, well…whatever Nightcrawler was. Therefore, it was really an…
The Postmodern Pelican 