While he is most well-regarded for his irreverent, often verbose philosophical comedies that offer sharp criticisms of the human condition, Woody Allen has never been afraid to take a few risks when they are most appropriate. There came a point in his career where he started to experiment with genre, particularly making films in which…
Night on Earth (1991)
One of my favourite dinner party questions to ask, especially when in the company of those who are more artistically inclined, is around the hypothetical scenario where we each have to choose a piece of art to preserve for future generations, or perhaps provide to those from another dimension, that we best feel encompasses the…
Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023)
The career trajectory of Cory Finley has been peculiar, to say the least – Thoroughbreds was an ambitious debut that gave him credibility as a promising young voice in independent cinema, while Bad Education was a step forward in terms of subject matter and resources, and even though it premiered on television, it feels considerable…
El Conde (2023)
It is always encouraging to find directors who aren’t afraid of taking risks, and few filmmakers in recent years have been taking bolder swings than Pablo Larraín, who has spent roughly the past decade oscillating between his native Chile and other countries, crafting unforgettable works that look at the past, present and future (often in…
Godland (2023)
While art has become increasingly secular as times have progressed and the importance of the church in day-to-day life has diminished, it remains a perpetual theme for many artists, who may not may works that outwardly celebrate the power of faith, but rather look at it in different ways, whether the history of religion or…
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (2023)
Compassion is a quality that many works of art seem to genuinely believe they convey, but very few actually manage to capture it in a way that is authentic and meaningful, which has meant that it has unfortunately become an increasingly rare commodity. However, one of the more recent examples of this characteristic not only…
Silent Movie (1976)
When the proverbial definitive history of 20th-century comedy is written, it would be shocking to see anyone other than Mel Brooks credited as perhaps the most influential creative mind of the back half of the century since his impact has loomed so enormously over contemporary humour, we have to wonder whether American comedy would be…
Lost Country (2023)
Having visited the Balkan region very recently myself and learning of the history of the rise and fall of Yugoslavia, there is a new set of insights that come from such an experience that make certain films feel very different and far more layered than we may have initially expected had we not been armed…
Hysterical Blindness (2002)
There are a few experiences that we can classify as being universal, and the desire to find someone with whom we can spend our lives is one of the most common, and alongside parenthood and death, has existed as a philosophical concept since the dawn of our consciousness. Yet, it isn’t always easy for some…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
While it is easy to criticize them for their tendency towards reboots, revivals and remakes (the tragic trio that has dominated our cinematic landscape), Hollywood deserves credit when it takes a gamble and it pays off, especially when working within these guidelines. In the case of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the franchise created by …
The Postmodern Pelican 