While it is logically implausible (since everyone needs to start somewhere), it has always seemed like Dame Jane Campion has been considered one of our finest filmmakers regardless of what stage of her career we are looking at – so imagining her being a young, rambunctious director that wasn’t the celebrated artist she is today…
Tag: reviews
We Live in Time (2024)
We tend to view life as a single stream of events, occurring in linear time and aiming to reach a particular destination – and the fact that we are obsessed with chronology to the point where we tend to focus on every unit of time. The great irony of this universal tendency is that in…
Hot Saturday (1932)
Discussions about the Pre-Code era are certainly not elusive around these parts. This period of Hollywood history is one of the most fascinating, since that brief period between the silent era and the implementation of the Hays Code was home to some of the most boundary-pushing, daring works, the likes of which we wouldn’t see…
Rumours (2024)
There has never been a more appropriate time to be sceptical of our global leaders than now – the world is in tatters. It seems like every nation is working to ensure its survival, even if it comes at the expense of its allies, which is not a new concept but one that goes against…
Two-Way Stretch (1960)
From a linguistic perspective, few places breed innovation in how language develops and is used than prisons – these institutions tend to provide fascinating insights into how people change meanings of words ascribe entirely new definitions to existing terms, or even just outright create new phrases, all of which is usually done to establish some…
Starlet (2012)
Much like I suspect would be the case with many people, I first became acquainted with Sean Baker in 2015, when he had a major breakthrough with Tangerine, an extraordinarily ambitious dark comedy about two transgender sex workers that was notable for both its unconventional narrative, the fact that it was shot entirely on an…
Hard Truths (2024)
“You can’t buy time. You can’t sell it either” There are many reasons to adore the work of Mike Leigh. His meticulous attention to detail when it comes to developing his characters, his astonishing ability to capture every aspect of everyday life (which is often the reason he is considered a founding member of an…
Between the Temples (2024)
“Give me your hand and I’ll give you mine” Everyday life comes with various challenges, which should resonate with the vast majority of us who are forced to navigate day-to-day obstacles simply to meet the minimum criteria to be considered a functional human being. Yet, despite these shared challenges, it’s our individual response to them…
Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974)
It tends to be quite a rare occurrence to find a film marketing itself as exactly what it intends to deliver, and avoiding any sense of unnecessary hyperbole for the sake of drawing attention to itself – and in its honesty, it actually veers towards being quite remarkable in its own right. This is the…
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
Very few filmmakers made as much of an impact on comedy as Preston Sturges, whose invaluable contributions to cinema have made him one of the most endearing figures in Hollywood history, with his efforts as both a writer and director setting the foundation for the concept of a comedic auteur and not many artists can…
The Postmodern Pelican 