-
I’m going to say it. This would have made for a better short film. Two hours is too long. Trim off the fat, tighten the story line, have fewer characters and make this a low budget thrill fest. Sigh. If you enjoyed the twist at the end of THE SIXTH SENSE then you might, just MIGHT find digesting M. Night Shyamalan’s OLD as something palatable. I on the other hand felt like I endured a two hour whiplash equivalent to the time of when I watched Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER! I mean I clenched my jaw and thighs while watching… Read more
-
PIG is like a weird, quiet, simply profound piece of art. It calls attention to loss and grief, treading in a puddle of existential deconstruction with comedic overtones, also Nicholas Cage needs a bath like very badly. Set in an isolating green forest of Oregon juxtaposed to the vibrantly booming metropolis of Portland, PIG keeps its balance in the fortitude of love, the only thing that seemingly matters to one’s existence. Nicholas Cage’s character, Robin is a recluse living in a shack of a camp ground with his truffle pig. Whatever has happened to Robin’s life has clearly led… Read more
-
Personally, I’m not the greatest player but I find myself drawn to the game especially among those I love. Chess is an alluring game. Chess is the game of life. And as Elizabeth Harmon retorts nonchalantly in a scene in the latest success that is Netflix limited series’ THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, “Chess can be beautiful.” To be honest, I had zero expectations going into this and figured I’d bow out by episode one, but to my surprise it hooked me. So for you curious minds out there… get your record player ready, cue in some hot 60s jams and… Read more
-
These are trying times. We all know that and perhaps collectively we feel the despair of the simple liberties that have been stripped away from us over the passing months. Things taken for granted are no longer necessarily as easily and accessible to reach. What does this have to do with Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 film REQUIEM FOR A DREAM? Depression. The death of dreams. But don’t worry, I don’t want this all to incessantly be about the darkness because with the balance of anything there wouldn’t be darkness without light. It’s a continuously unfolding shape shifting dance. Maybe we’ve… Read more
-
With movies like All the President’s Men, Network, His Girl Friday, Deadline USA, The Post, Spotlight, and Bombshell, or TV shows like the Newsroom, the news media has facilitated an interesting scope into our culture’s values, dishonesty, and secrecy. Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and given the stature of a free country and the political arena that pledges the safekeeping of its’ contingents’ power is certainly a lethal tango. To be persuaded versus questioning one’s ethics will always be a dilemma, and movies thrive on this… Read more
-
The hype did nothing for me. In fact, it really makes me ponder and cringe about humanity’s direction sometimes. Wild animals are wild animals and I find it wildly hilarious humans attempt to monetize, conserve, and parade a sort of vanity to establish some kind of status in our very diverse society. I don’t get it, because animals are still going extinct and yet here we are still partaking in the absurdity and erroneous perception that its making a difference. Perhaps, I’m a cynic and I suppose I’m aiding in such discourse but that’s out my love for those… Read more
-
Given the world’s current condition, my weariness returns to the man who made me a cinephile. Perhaps, its dumb luck or a coincidence or sporadic memories but finding ourselves among a world hindered not only by an illness but the mentality of isolation rang an enormous bell in my head. What film knocks all the other films on their asses in terms of such proclivity? The master of them all and the most essential science fiction film that has influenced so many others, ( you can all fight me on this), but it is very much the great Andrei… Read more
-
We all endure the unconditional forlorn of mundanity that results in some aspect of our lives. The irony in this particular write up is Steven Soderbergh’s 1996 film SCHIZOPOLIS, for me was like coming up for air in a sea of films that subscribe to the same template in terms of storytelling. The template does not apply to SCHIZOPOLIS and in doing so really shines the light on this subliminal sadness that’s anchored beneath the offbeat milieu Soderbergh creates. You know when you’re shattered on the inside, but deflect such notion on the outside? In many instances, SCHIZOPOLIS populates… Read more
-
THE NIGHTINGALE is a tense, tough one. Real world-terror is horrific and Jennifer Kent has executed a no holds barred devilish nightmare of a woman with nothing left to lose. It’s all about revenge stemming from a tensely claustrophobic scene in a cabin where one woman’s life at the mercy of three senseless, debauched soldiers destroy three lives all because one didn’t get a promotion. Stupid, idiotic, assholes! Anyone with a soul watching the first twenty minutes will well up in rage. Aisling Franciosi (Clare) is impenetrable with such a Gaelic singing voice. She’d make angels cry, but unfortunately… Read more
-
THE COUNTESS, a French-German, historical, gothic, drama that I’m also going to classify as a horror film and quite possibly lingers in the fairytale arena very fleetingly is fierce with a sullen vitality dwelling in the broken façade that is ultimately the unattainable credo known as the Fountain of Youth. Initially, I wasn’t taken with it due to the quick pacing in the beginning, but once the heart of the story took root, my mind melded into electrifying submission. Ah familiarity in the dark twisted fate of a heartbroken woman, yes I’m quietly feeling such hurt, so it’s evoked… Read more
Marissa The Cinephile 