The blurring of comedy and horror is not always an easy process, but it is one that has yielded some of the most brilliant and provocative works in the history of cinema. It takes quite a special writer and director to combine two wildly different emotions – laughter and fear – and create an atmosphere…
Tag: comedy
Sorrowful Jones (1949)
The story of “Sorrowful” Jones, a wise-cracking bookie whose smart-aleck nature conceals a very insecure set of internal qualities is a timeless tale, so much that the story, as written by Damon Runyon (who first introduced the character in Little Miss Marker), has been told on multiple occasions, where luminaries such as Walter Matthau, Adolphe…
Eternally Yours (1939)
Every marriage has its ups and downs, with some having more than others. This is the case for Anita Halstead and Tony (otherwise known as The Great Arturo) – he is a charming and world-renowned magician, and she is his doting wife, their relationship started when she was in attendance at one of his performances,…
Meet Wally Sparks (1997)
As a culture, we are predisposed to enjoying some of the less intellectual sides of society, which mainly manifests in the form of the entertainment we consume. This obviously doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’d argue we all have our self-professed “guilty pleasures” that we tend to keep concealed from prying eyes. The most common…
Jeffrey (1995)
While there is a rule of thumb that states that tragedy plus time equals comedy, there are some subjects that are considered too taboo to be subjected to humour, or at least the kind of comedy that is appreciated by general audiences. HIV/AIDS is one such subject – despite the considerable efforts to eradicate the…
Come to the Stable (1949)
“Something tells me that an irresistible force has been let loose in New England.” There is something magical about the idea of unbreakable faith. We may live in an era where a lot of Western culture advocates for a more secular view of humanity, and where art that positively tackles religion is usually relegated to…
Bernadette (2023)
As we are constantly reminded by the hackneyed adage, behind every successful man is a woman helping him on his journey. Those with knowledge of European or global politics throughout the 20th century will undoubtedly be familiar with the sometimes divisive and always controversial career of French president Jacques Chirac, something of a polarizing figure…
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Few filmmakers can lay claim to having a career even marginally as successful as Ernst Lubitsch, whose work as a writer and director quite literally changed the way the film industry viewed comedy. Choosing his masterpiece is a challenging endeavour since there are a number of terrific films that he helmed during his peak, which…
Serial Mom (1994)
Be prepared people, I have been watching a lot of John Waters, so you will be seeing a lot of reviews of his films here in the near future. Serial Mom – the title is enough for you to know that this is no normal film. It isn’t. Serial Mom is a dark, twisted, hilarious…
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Allow me, if you will, to gush about a certain Sam Raimi horror film. Not The Evil Dead, but instead his 2009 masterpiece, Drag Me to Hell. In a world where horror is defined by slashers and demons, Sam Raimi dares to create a combination of gothic horror and gory violence, much like The Evil…
The Postmodern Pelican 