au hasard balthazar (1966)
“au hasard balthazar” is my first robert bresson. a filmmaker known for the quality of his pictures over the quantity of them (only 14 films were made over a period of 40 years or so) bresson has in the past slipped under my radar in the past due to the conflicting nature of his work … Read more
the wizard of oz (1939)
as per the request of my reading list, a fresh viewing of “the wizard of oz” proved a necessity this christmas. having not seen the film for at least ten years i had forgotten just how vivid and downright great a film it is. as a fan of the work of murnau and lang i … Read more
traffic (2000)
steven soderbergh’s “traffic” is possibly the last of a kind. its one of the final films that focussed on the US government’s “war on drugs” prior to the events of the ninth of september 2001, whereby terrorism officially became the states’ first port of call when it came to protecting its citizens. a concept explored … Read more
australia (2008)
baz luhrmann’s ode to his homeland proved an apt post-christmas viewing. not expecting to enjoy it at all i was pleasently surprised by the final piece. the analogy towards “the wizard of oz”, while lazy, was actually fairly satisfying, and while its not something i can see myself revisiting any time soon it provided an … Read more
the passenger (1975)
jack nicholson’s finest performance, “the passenger” is without doubt one of the greatest films ever made. in turn i would consider the piece to be michalangelo antonioni’s finest work too. nicholson plays journalist david locke, a man fed up of his life and situation. when the oppurtunity arises, he uses it to fake his own … Read more
the limey (1999)
terrence stamp plays the limey of the title in steven soderbergh’s low key post-modern homage to the british popular culture of the 1960′s and the revenge genre. watching this so soon after godard’s french new wave piece “pierrot le fou” opened my eyes to the great influence the movement clearly had on this film. the … Read more
pierrot le fou (1965)
for me, jean-luc godard’s “pierrot le fou” not only represents the best example of the french new wave (despite some purists attaining that its not actually an example of the nouvelle vague at all…) but is, in my opinion the greatest film ever made. ”pierrot le fou” is a film about regret, even down to … Read more
die hard (1988)
tis the night before christmas and all through the house, ”die hard” is blaring, it wouldnt be the same without.
mon oncle antoine (1971)
claude jutra’s ‘mon oncle antione’ has the honour of being this viewers favourite christmas film of all time. sure its a tad grim; the tale of a young boy confronting death and mortality for the first time couldnt not have been, but the atmosphere of the canadian asbestos mining town and the folk surrounding it … Read more
solaris (2002)
steven soderbergh’s often frowned upon remake of the tarkovsky classic was given a recent viewing, in light of the upcoming release of “che” next month. while its not the marvel that is the original 1972 film, it is actually rather interesting, at least as an example of soderbergh trying a different genre. over the next … Read more
