TIFF13 Review: Under the Starry Sky
Dyana Gaye's debut feature Under the Starry Sky is a rich, textured exploration of African diaspora and the fragile hopes of those looking for a new life or revisiting an old one. The drama tracks three separate but intercon...
Four Seasons of Silly Symphonies
There is a season, turn turn turn – Or so the song goes. The changing seasons have always been a source of inspiration for artists, from Antonio Vivaldi to Walter Disney. In 1929 the Disney Studio began a series of cartoons called
TIFF13 Review: Borgman (2013)
The home invasion sub-genre has caught flame recently -think The Purge, You're Next, The Agression Scale - which I assume has something to do with the latent fear of terrorists. In all fairness, I'm an American so I think all trending movie ...
Friday, 6 September 2013
The Netflix Queue: In Time (2011)
In Time is available for streaming on Netflix. Drinking game rules outlined below.
Aren’t we all glad, on some level, that Justin Timberlake went back to singing? However you feel about his musical output, at least it’s kep...
Aren’t we all glad, on some level, that Justin Timberlake went back to singing? However you feel about his musical output, at least it’s kep...
TIFF13: A Grand Canal
In Wim Wenders’ lyrical 1980 film, Lightning over Water, the German director engages in an extended grieving process over the loss of his friend, Hollywood auteur Nicholas Ray. As the film nimbly jumps between its documentary and fictional ele...
TIFF13 Review: Hi-Ho Mistahey!
Alanis Obomsawin has made quite a body of work centered around the rights of Canada's native people and she returns in form with Hi-Ho Mistahey!, a look at the deep disparities in the Attawapiskat First Nation's public educa...
TIFF13 Trends: Everything Old is New Again
There is a film in this year's TIFF programme that I will DIE if I don't get to see - Yurusarezarumono, which is Japanese for Unforgiven. YES! A Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Review: Escape From New York (1981)
Escape from New York airs Friday, September 6 on TCM. Check local listings for times.
In 1981, the idea of retro-fitting New York as a prison unto itself seemed far out, but believable. In fact, thanks to director Neil Bl...
In 1981, the idea of retro-fitting New York as a prison unto itself seemed far out, but believable. In fact, thanks to director Neil Bl...
TIFF13 Review: Parkland (2013)
It's an old question (pretty much 50 years old to be precise): Where were you when J.F.K. was shot? In his new star-studded docudrama Parkland, first time feature director Peter Landesman poses this question. Again. While
TIFF13 Trends: The Toronto International Franco Festival
Here's how I launch TIFF-mas - I sit down with the full programme and I read each and every description of each and every film. And then I make a "short" list of the movies I most hope to see. Then I make complicated graphs, and diagrams, and gantt c...
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Scarlett’s Gowns: Gone With The Wind Costume Restoration
Everything about Margaret Mitchell’s novel and David O. Selznick’s film Gone With The Wind is iconic. Walter Plunkett’s costumes for Vivien Leigh’s character, Scarlett O’Hara, are no exception. In 2010, the Harry Ransom Cent...
TIFF13 Review: Burt's Buzz
Burt's Buzz, from director Jody Shapiro, ends up as the slickest corporate video ever (and only slightly more exciting). The doc tells the tale of Burt Shavitz, former photojournalist (oh, he took that photo of Alle...
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Top 10 Movie Redheads
The red head is often associated with a feisty attitude and fiery temper, but there have been many different forms of red haired women in the history of film. Here's a list of my top 10 movie redheads.
Charley in A Single Man
Sunday, 1 September 2013
Indie Watch: Mario the Magician: Building Magic
Let’s face it, despite their best intentions, most human interest stories are boring, predictable pieces of manipulative feel-goodery. The genre, which mostly finds its home on television fluff-piece segments reminiscent of Bart’s People, is easily o...
Overlooked Gems: Annette (1958)
There are many, many stories in popular culture of “the new kid.” After all, even if you never were that, it certainly did tap into our childhood insecurities of being different. But one you probably haven’t seen or heard of is the second and final...
Saturday, 31 August 2013
The Netflix Queue: Batman: The Movie (1966)
Batman: The Movie is now available for streaming on Netflix.
With the announcement last week that Ben Affleck would be donning the cowl in 2015’s Batman Vs. Superman, the Internet reacted as the In...
With the announcement last week that Ben Affleck would be donning the cowl in 2015’s Batman Vs. Superman, the Internet reacted as the In...
The Complete Merrie Melodies of Foxy and Roxy
Following the international success of Mickey Mouse in the late 1920s, many major Hollywood studios were eager to carve out a lucrative piece of toonto...
Friday, 30 August 2013
TIFF13 Review: Devil's Knot (2013)
Back in 1993, three eight-year-old boys, Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, were found brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The crime, which was widely considered to be the work of a satanic cult, stirred West Memphis’ police...
Overlooked Gems: The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955)
In the transition from summer to fall, freedom to school, I wanted to take a closer look at some images of childhood and teenage life we don't know of. While the two I've picked aren't "films" I thought for an example of an "overlooked gem," the fou...
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Top 5 Tiki Movies
Having spent the past weekend in a drunken stupor at Tiki Oasis, a once-a-year conflagration of Tiki culture enthusiasts that descend upon San Diego, California; I am currently trying to dry out after four days of Mai Tais, Monsoons, Hurricanes, asso...
Documentary: T.V. Junkie (2006)
An impromptu watch this past week, I laid eyes on the extremely engrossing, unexpectedly heart-wrenching documentary, T.V. Junkie (2006) from directors Michael Cain and Matt Radecki. I have to admit, I initially had zero clue as to what I was jump...
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
5 Films Set Over a Weekend or Less
Time is something often played with in films. Some are epics that stretch over years and years, some can document an entire life and some sci-fi's even travel back and forth through time. However, they're sometimes at their most successful when they ...
Adrian: The Women (1939)
The Women is a film all about men and fashion. There isn’t a man in sight, but the fashion is a feast for the eyes! It was adapted by screenwriting veterans Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, from the play by Clare Boothe Luce. The...
Overlooked Gem: Meatballs (1979)
Summer is on its way out the door, but before it completely says good-bye, I wanted to make sure and include a couple of summer recommendations. With that in mind, I’m suggesting a slightly more popular film than usual (but not that mainstream) beca...
Review: Don Jon
The irrepressibly charming Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his writing/directing debut in Don Jon, a dark and cynical romantic comedy...
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Get a Free Month at MUBI!
Do you MUBI? If you like to hang around Pretty Clever Films, we know you'll adore MUBI!
What's a MUBI, you ask? MUBI is the best movie streaming service going. Here's the deal - each day MUBI offers up one carefully curated great movie and it's av...
What's a MUBI, you ask? MUBI is the best movie streaming service going. Here's the deal - each day MUBI offers up one carefully curated great movie and it's av...
Cult Classics: Greetings (1968)
Do jokes have plots? Does a set-up and a punchline constitute a plot? Like here's something that sounds like a joke; a white man walks into a bar in Harlem, shouts "which one of you n-----s is man enough to take me on?" and is promptly beaten up. Thi...
Monday, 26 August 2013
An Open Letter to the Director of Blue Jasmin
Dear Mr. Allen:
Let me start by saying I am one of your biggest fans. (I used to be your biggest fan, but then you made September.) I watch your early, funny films with joyful glee. I sit in rapt attention and awe, basking in the glow of ...
Let me start by saying I am one of your biggest fans. (I used to be your biggest fan, but then you made September.) I watch your early, funny films with joyful glee. I sit in rapt attention and awe, basking in the glow of ...
The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
The Brother from another Planet is a breath of fresh interstellar air. It’s the post-Blaxploitation era response to the rising social issues and growing changes within inner city communities in the 1980s. Written, directed a...
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Movie Review: Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sometimes you just have to go back and revisit a classic, if only to remind yourself of what made you fall in love with the film in the first place. I've been a fan of Singin' in the Rain for a few years now, but that doesn'...
Friday, 23 August 2013
Movie Review: Beginnings (2013)
The Armenian genocide of 1915 continues to be source of contention between present day Armenia and Turkey. As a matter of fact, the term genocide is still controversial. Enter the "Speaking to One Another" project, a project designed to bring togethe...
The Netflix Queue: Rubber (2010)
Sometimes, the Foreign section of Netflix introduces you to genuinely beautiful, well-made, well-scripted and well-acted movies you may have otherwise missed out on.
And sometimes it brings you Rubber.
A 2010 French film (though e...
And sometimes it brings you Rubber.
A 2010 French film (though e...
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Top 6 Iconic Roles That Almost Went To Different Actors
We've all heard the one about how Tom Selleck was originally pegged for the role of Indiana Jones. You can't help but try to imagine the mustachioed star cracking that whip but, try as you might, it's undeniable that Harrison Ford was destined to don...
Overlooked Gems: Take This Waltz (2011)
There is something about Sarah Polley’s films. They are precious without being pretentious, sweet but never saccharine, and profound but never preachy. It might be that her films all seem to come from the heart, a special place of inspiration which...
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Marilyn Monroe and Her "Sisters"
The phenomenon that was Marilyn Monroe hit Hollywood in the 1950’s like a rocket and the era of the blonde bombshell was born. With television taking away box-office receipts, every studio needed to cash in with their own version of Marilyn. Some of ...
Movie Review: Present Tense (2013)
In Belmin Soylemez's feature debut Present Tense, recent divorcee Mina (Sanem Oge) harbors one dream: to move to America. After struggling to find a job, Mina takes a position at Istanbul's Galaxy Cafe reading fortunes in co...
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
3 Reasons Why Inherit The Wind Continues to Resonate
There are certain films that resonate with the period of a certain time in its criticism of society of that time. The satire is rich and informative. For Inherit The Wind, while it was about the Scopes Trial in the '20s, it ...
The Netflix Queue: The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Lady Vanishes is available for Netflix Instant Streaming.
The Lady Vanishes is a strange film. I was a bit thrown off when I started watching the comedy thriller directed by the master of sus...
The Lady Vanishes is a strange film. I was a bit thrown off when I started watching the comedy thriller directed by the master of sus...
Monday, 19 August 2013
Ten Scary Film Females
There's really no shortage of Scary Film Females (see our very own Kick Ass Ladies in Film series, if you don't believe it). But you know what? It's still fun to list 'em!
10. Shosanna Dreyfus, Inglourious Basterds
In the years before they launched Looney Tunes at the Warner Brothers Studio, Rudoph Isling and Hugh Harman had been working with Ub I...
Friday, 16 August 2013
Top 5 Memorable Movie Teachers
Filmmakers can't seem to resist the teacher trope, and the big screen is littered with memorable movie teachers. From the sublime to the absurd, here are our top 5 memorable movie teachers.
Dewey Finn, School of Rock
They're the most vivacious...vexacious...flirtatious personalities in gay Paree! shouts the films tagline and it’s no exaggeration. Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor, and Taina Elg are Les Girls...
6 Greatest Cinematic Falls
Since it's conception, cinema has been filled with pivotal moments of characters falling in love, falling out of love, and falling in line to the beat of their own drums. But there are epic falls that have been featured in films that should be given ...
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
5 British Films You Must See
Initially, this was going to be a "Top 5 British Films" post, but that title is both too generic and too subjective, at least in my case. When it comes to British cinema, I am biased. Partly because I am an American that identifies as an Anglophile. ...
Overlooked Gems: Lili (1953)
It is unfortunate that Audrey Hepburn’s massive popularity and iconic status came about at the same time as Leslie Caron’s rise to fame. For while they have an obvious similarity in appearance and appealed to the same audiences, she has her own qual...
Monday, 12 August 2013
Top 5 Rock Songs Used in Movies
Sometimes, a song just fits a movie so well that you forget about the story, even just for a little bit. I, personally, find myself getting lost in rock songs in films - be it indie or classic. Rock will never die, even if film is the only thing that...
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Under the Bed: QA with director Steven C. Miller
Who knew that scaring could be so much fun? Steven C. Miller was able to talk to Pretty Clever Films about the enthralling and fun atmosphere behind the gory and gruesome Under the Bed.
Pretty Clever Films: What was the inspiration...
Pretty Clever Films: What was the inspiration...
Movie Review: Under the Bed (2013)
Slenderman is scarier than the monster under the bed.
A quick study of this statement can be done with the film aptly named Under the Bed. The film and the webseries "Marble Hornets," featuring the elusive Slenderman, on YouTube have some...
A quick study of this statement can be done with the film aptly named Under the Bed. The film and the webseries "Marble Hornets," featuring the elusive Slenderman, on YouTube have some...
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Indie Watch: The Truth About Romance
James G. Wall’s debut feature film, The Truth About Romance, is a low-budget romantic comedy that meets and often exceeds the well-worn criteria of its genre. The film tells the story of Josh (Jordan Greenhough), a luckless an...
The Silly Symphonies of Ub Iwerks
He may not have his name on a theme park in Japan or on a Frank Gehry designed concert hall in Los Angeles, but without the creative ideas of animator Ub Iwerks there would be no Magic Kingdom and no Mickey Mouse.
Because Walt's n...
Because Walt's n...
Friday, 9 August 2013
Movie Review: Mister Roberts (1955)
Mister Roberts airs August 11th on TCM as part of the Summer Under the Stars Celebration: Spotlight on Henry Fonda.
I’m surprised sometimes at the films I liked as a kid. Not because they no longer hold the appeal of my a...
I’m surprised sometimes at the films I liked as a kid. Not because they no longer hold the appeal of my a...
Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles, On Screen: A Safe Place and Someone to Love
Henry Jaglom directed Orson Welles in two films, his debut, 1971’s A Safe Place, and Someone to Love, Welles’s last screen appearance. They’re essentially bookends to the friendship of the two men. In addition to showing J...
Book Review: James Dean: The Mutant King
He was Hollywood's original rebel; the trailblazing actor who opened doors for up-and-coming actors and became the voice of a lost generation.
After the Second World War shook the very foundations of society to the core, the youth growing up in th...
After the Second World War shook the very foundations of society to the core, the youth growing up in th...
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Documentary: Blackfish (2013)
The fact that Orcas are commonly referred to as 'killer whales' should give some sort of clue that they are not the ideal species to be getting up close and personal with. Yet, theme parks such as Seaworld rake in millions each year from shows based ...
The MUBI Cinematheque: Scarlet Street (1945)
Scarlett Street (1945) is one of the better known of director Fritz Lang's American offerings. It's also a well loved one, though at the time of it's release it was viewed as mostly lame follow-up to Lang's The Woman in the ...
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Cinematic Style: Evelyn Brent
Unless you’re a devotee of Josef von Sternberg’s films of the late 1920’s you probably haven’t heard of Evelyn Brent. More than likely you’ve seen images of her, for she was a striking beauty, but you just can’t seem to place her or ...
Modern Love: The Films of Leos Carax at TIFF
It's either fitting or bewildering that my introduction to the work of French auteur Leos Carax began with his latest film, the confounding and haunting Here’s a conversation that happened in my home while I was watching Werner Herzog’s 2011 documentary Into the Abyss and a largely impartial third party wandered into the room during the brief bit where Herzog is...
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Movie Review: The Edukators (2004)
I realized recently that there exists a part of me that kind of likes to procrastinate until this sense of urgency arises. It is this exact sense of urgency that then provides me with the necessary fuel/fire to get done whatever it is I need to get d...
Movie Review: Don't Look Now (1973)
For all of it's impressive cinematography, excellent acting, and nuanced writing, when Nicholas Roeg's 1973 suspense masterpiece Don't Look Now is brought up, it's often in the context of whether or not the film's sex scenes...
Monday, 5 August 2013
Blu-ray Review: To the Wonder
To the Wonder, the new film from Texan auteur Terrence Malick, is the first release from the director since his 2011 Palme D’or-winning and Oscar-nominated philosophical tract, Tree of Life. Tree of Life and
Overlooked Gems: Roadie (2011)
It's a little strange to me that actor Ron Eldard never made the leap to being a major star in Hollywood. There were more than a few times in the 1990s that he seemed right on the edge. He's had leading roles in films like True Love and
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Indie Watch: The Telltale Heart (2010)
Cinema’s love affair with Edgar Allan Poe began early and recurred often. Jean Epstein’s surrealist 1928 adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher, Roger Corman’s X-Rated 1961 version of The Pit and the Pendulum, and last year’s repr...
Movie Review: Jobs (2013)
Jobs hits the big screen on Friday, August 16, 2013.
It’s funny to sit in a theater to watch a biopic about Steve Jobs with a bunch of bloggers and media types: almost all of us had at least one Apple device on us, or wou...
It’s funny to sit in a theater to watch a biopic about Steve Jobs with a bunch of bloggers and media types: almost all of us had at least one Apple device on us, or wou...
Saturday, 3 August 2013
Midnight Maddness: Naqoyqatsi (2002)
Director Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi made a big splash in the art house world, amazing audiences with its beautiful imagery and dynamic score. Quite frankly, there was nothing else like this when it debuted in 1982. It's sequel, Powaq...
The Degenerate Opus of Walter Ruttmann
While endeavoring to redefine who was and wasn’t considered a human being, the cultural policies of Adolph Hitler’s government also sought to redefine what was and wasn’t considered art. Starting in the mid-1930s the German government...
Friday, 2 August 2013
Review: Murder, He Says (1945)
Murder, He Says airs Wednesday, August 7th on TCM. Check local listings for times.
Not to be confused with, but an homage to the Miss Marple Mystery Murder, She Said, this little gem is really worth a watch. ...
Not to be confused with, but an homage to the Miss Marple Mystery Murder, She Said, this little gem is really worth a watch. ...
Lomography Sale on Now
Look, we all like images here at Pretty Clever Films. We like to look at them, especially when they move. We like to think about them. We like to talk about them (and write about them!). But I'm guessing, like me, many of you like to make 'em as well...
Movie Review: Julia Misbehaves (1948)
It was the rare Hollywood film that featured a female lead who abandoned her husband and baby to pursue a career as a music hall performer. But thus is the premise of the MGM comedy, Julia Misbehaves. After completing a seri...
Blu-ray Review: Trance
“No life is worth a piece of art.” This statement is repeated numerous times at the beginning of Danny Boyle’s new psychological thriller, Trance (which is coming out on Blu-ray this Tuesday). As the film progresses, this stat...
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Top 6 Natalie Portman Moments
Jerusalem born Natalie Portman has been acting since she was eleven years old, and since her early days in Leon she's taken on a huge range of roles, from large Blockbusters (Thor) to small indie roles (Hesher), dramas (Brothers...
Blu-ray Review: Olympus Has Fallen
When Olympus Has Fallen hit the multiplex screens, it fell faster than the White House. I'm a sucker for a one man on a rampage action story, so I was mildly interested in seeing it. But the most reliable source of movie rec...
MUBI Cinematheque: Turkish Passport (2011)
Turkish Passport is currently available for streaming on MUBI. Sign up for a free trial and watch it today.
It’s amazing how many movies have been produced over ...
It’s amazing how many movies have been produced over ...
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
The Netflix Queue: The Naked City (1948)
The Naked City is available for Netflix Instant Streaming.
The Naked City is a different breed of cat when it comes to the Hollywood Studio System Era of the 1920 through the 50s. The Naked ...
The Naked City is a different breed of cat when it comes to the Hollywood Studio System Era of the 1920 through the 50s. The Naked ...
Changing Styles: Why Change Your Wife? (1920)
The inter-war years were undoubtably tremendous times of change, but the crux of this happened in the years immediately following The Great War, and no one highlighted this better than Cecil B. DeMille. By DeMille’s stylish use of the gorgeous Gloria...
DVD Review: The Power of Myth: 25th Anniversary Editon
Any serious cinephile cannot afford to ignore the seminal six-hour campfire conversation between journalist Bill Moyers and scholar Joseph Campbell that aired on PBS in 1988 under the title The Power of Myth. Hell, any serio...
TIFF Announces Midnight Madness Lineup for 2013 Fest
Midnight Madness, the thrilling, chilling, and often gory celebration of cinematic shock, returns to the 38th Toronto International Film Festival for its 25th year. Yes, 25 years.
This year's anniversary programme, from returning programmer Colin ...
This year's anniversary programme, from returning programmer Colin ...
Grizzly Man (2005)
Director Werner Herzog paints a thoughtful, and at times disturbing, portrait of a man out of touch with reality in this doc. The principal subject is Timothy Treadwell, the titular Grizzly Man who has made it his mission to...
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Only God Forgives: Some Assembly Required
I'm being low-key about it but amongst some circles (just my buddy and myself on the phone) I have started to affectionately dub 2013: The year of trip/cinema. Look beyond the river-bend and you can discover a select slew of subversive films (out the...
DVD Review: Tales of the City: 20th Anniversary Edition
The impact of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and its 1993 television mini-series probably cannot be underestimated. I'm no sociologist, but I distinctly remember the revelation of seeing gay couples on television, a ci...
Monday, 29 July 2013
3 Classic Film Crossovers That Would Have Been Epic
The age of the crossover is upon us - even the fiercest of television enemies (such as Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin) are joining together for even just a little bit of screen time. There are some older films that really could have profited from a ...
Overlooked Gems: Sightseers (2012)
It should be offered as a warning that Sightseers (2012), is not going to be a movie to appeal to everyone. It’s dark (very, very dark), with an often cruel comic sensibility, and has the kind of deadpan humor w...
The Netflix Queue: Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown is now available for streaming on Netflix.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Quentin Tarantino fan. One of my goals in life is to meet him, proceed to get smashed, and fall into an ongoing conversation ...
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Quentin Tarantino fan. One of my goals in life is to meet him, proceed to get smashed, and fall into an ongoing conversation ...
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Indie Watch: The Winking Boy
A rest and rehabilitation facility isn’t an obvious setting for a comedy. Most narratives about the infirm, their caregivers, and their surroundings focus on tragic circumstances, but those sad stories often omit scenes that would present even the sl...
The Netflix Queue: Mammoth (2009)
Mammoth is available for streaming on Netflix.
Michelle Williams is a bit of a Hollywood anomaly: she’s an A-list actress who has never really been in a major Hollywood blockbuster. This year’s disappointing Oz: The...
Michelle Williams is a bit of a Hollywood anomaly: she’s an A-list actress who has never really been in a major Hollywood blockbuster. This year’s disappointing Oz: The...
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Midnight Maddness: The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
Welcome to the first article for Midnight Movies! A new weekly column bringing you reviews, scatter-brained ramblings and other oddities all focusing on cinema's more wild, bizarre and darkly weird entries. For today we're going to touch upon a film ...
Friday, 26 July 2013
49 Years, 49 Films: Part II
Now that the dreaded week is here, and my age is one number higher than my previous post, it’s time to finish off my list of personal favorite films, one per year, up to 2012. Reddit AMA, acclaimed art house director Nicholas Winding Refn expressed interest in the possibility of making a trilogy of dreamy ul...
10 Things About Some Like It Hot
Recently, I had the pleasure of revisiting Billy Wilder's 1959 masterpiece Some Like It Hot at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox. The film was introduced by director Ivan Reitman and he cited numerous reasons as to why Wilder's c...
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Top 10 Unhappy Movie Endings
Everyone of us probably has that one particular film where no matter how many times we view it, we still feel that sad, gloomy feeling once it's over. There's often something extremely cathartic about a film where you can have a good, hard cry afterw...
The Mubi Cinematheque: Strike (1925)
Strike is currently available for streaming on Mubi. Get a free trial and watch it today.
Strike (Russian title Stachka) was dire...
Strike (Russian title Stachka) was dire...
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
What A Way To Go! (1964)
What a concept! What a cast! What a wardrobe! Twentieth Century-Fox’s film What A Way To Go! is quite the star-studded affair. I mean you can’t really go wrong with a Betty Comden and Adolph Green screenplay, J. Lee Thompson...
2013 Toronto International Film Festival Lineup Announced
When Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey took the stage yesterday to announce the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival preliminary lineup, Handling mentioned we had a mere 44 days to the start of the festival. The gathered media sent up a little co...
Documentary: The Imposter (2012)
The Imposter feels like an elaborate fiction that could only exist as a summer blockbuster - and could not possibly be true. It begins as the story of a missing child from San Antonio, Texas, but then twists into an investig...
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Jared Bratt Forms a Judgment Night Meetup Group
I said it before, I'll say it again, the little-seen (or little talked about) movie Judgment Night (1993) starring Emillio Estevez, is one of my favorite suspense/thrillers ever committed to celluloid. Directed by a pre-Blown Aw...
New Year...
Movie Review: Picnic (1955)
So Picnic... geez, where do I even start with Picnic? In the course of the movie, Kim Novak's Madge has the occasion to say, "What good is it only being pretty? I get tired of being looked at." That...
The Netflix Queue: Upstream Color (2013)
Upstream Color is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Scopolamine is a powerful, dangerous drug. In fact, it’s so damaging that it is widely known as “The Devil’s Breath.” Derived from the flowers of the South Americ...
Scopolamine is a powerful, dangerous drug. In fact, it’s so damaging that it is widely known as “The Devil’s Breath.” Derived from the flowers of the South Americ...
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Indie Watch: A Day's Messing
For contemporary filmmakers, recreating the aesthetics of pre-sound cinema is a double-edged sword. The idea seems like a screenwriting shortcut (“Hey! I don’t need to write dialogue!”), but its execution involves far more than an absence of talking....
The Netflix Queue: Love (2011)
Love (2011) is available for streaming on Netflix.
Did you know the guy from Blink 182 made a movie? I didn’t either, but after being incorrectly informed that Tom Delonge had wri...
Did you know the guy from Blink 182 made a movie? I didn’t either, but after being incorrectly informed that Tom Delonge had wri...
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Overlooked Gems: Quartet (2012)
There was no film I found more delightful or surprising last year than the music-themed feature Quartet. Not A Late Quartet (although a film also worth seeking out) but the British dramedy about a retired quartet of...
The Necromation of Ladislaw Starewicz
The etymology of the word ‘animation’ comes from the Latin animātiō, which means the act of giving life to something. I have always felt that the true Latin meaning has a slight Frankenstein vibe to it because before bringing l...
Friday, 19 July 2013
49 Years, 49 Films: Part 1
It is with great sadness that I announce that next week I shall be 49 years old. Ouch! Perhaps the only way to lessen the blow is to look back and give you my personal birthday list for the best film of each year, from 1964 to 2013. With such a ma...
Movie Review: My Man Godfrey (1936)
With the emergence of the "screwball comedy" in the 1930s, Hollywood discovered a sure-fire way to lift the spirits of an American populace struggling to survive the Depression. Audiences sought a reprieve from their daily hardships in the form of be...
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Top Five Disastrous Film Weddings
To bring out an old cliche, weddings are meant to be the happiest day of your life. On screen, however, they can often be far from perfect. Anyone who's ever seen a soap opera will know what a screaming, fighting, sobbing frenzy they can be portrayed...
The Mubi Cinematheque: Don't Drink the Water (1994)
Don't Drink the Water is currently available on Mubi. Sign up for a free trial of Mubi here.
Prolific Writer/Actor/Director Woody Allen (aka Al...
Prolific Writer/Actor/Director Woody Allen (aka Al...
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Talk To Me, Harry Winston: Cinematic Baubles
They sparkle, glisten and pop on-screen and off. Hollywood jewels have been catching our eyes and hearts since movies began. These cinematic baubles have adorned our favorite male and female stars, their clothes, and accessories. The...
Blogdanovich
For most film bloggers, there's probably a little niggling fear of doubt when that blog is launched - who will read this? will anyone care? am I talking to myself. I'm going to hazard a guess, though, that there blog nightmares did not plague Peter B...
Movie Review: Following Sean (2005)
When he was in university, filmmaker Ralph Arlyck made a highly publicized documentary about a kid named Sean. He was a cute kid, who at four years old was smoking grass and had free roam of his Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Sean’s parents were Ralph’...
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Crushing on Danny Boyle
Director Danny Boyle's films are kind of like giving someone a gift wherein its wrapping would suggest that the present underneath is indeed a bike but then upon unraveling the outer-paper, our gift-getter soon realize...
The Criterion Contraption
We all remember Julie who cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and we're all familiar with bloggers who are working their way through 1001 Movies to See Before You Die. But it was only yesterday tha...
Cult Movies: Brothers of the Head (2005)
How do you make an inoffensive exploitation film? How do you make a polite film about rude boys? Directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe must have had those questions in mind when working on the mild and unshocking conjoined-twin punk-rock faux-documen...
Monday, 15 July 2013
Top 3 Screen Screams
One of the cheesiest things in movies is a bad screen scream. You just sort of sit and cringe and just pray for it to be over. There are some screams, however, that are truly bloodcurdling and terrifying. Just even thinking about these horrible scree...
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Lucille Fay LeSueur as Joan Crawford
That's right - I'm talking about the ultimate in female bad assery - Joan Crawford as... herself. From her humble beginnings as a contract hoofer to her final starring role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pepsi Cola Co., Crawfor...
The Man on the Flying Trapeze
The Man on the Flying Trapeze is a nice little movie blog from David Inman, focusing on Hollywood classics from the years 1925-1935. We're sold!
And you get exactly what's advertised at The Man on the Flying T...
And you get exactly what's advertised at The Man on the Flying T...
The Comedy (2012)
I’m huge fan of Tim Heidecker and Eric Warheim. Since adolescence, my sense of humor has been routed in awkard moments, slapstick, farce, and babies farting. I’ve seen every episode of "Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job!" more times tha...
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor
You know those stories detailing mothers developing super-human strength and lifting a car off their child? Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor takes that idea to the nth degree in both The Terminator and Terminator 2:...
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Sigourney Weaver as Ripley
You don't talk kick ass ladies in film without talking Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in 1986's Aliens. And we're not talking metaphorically either - Ripley actually puts boot to butt frequently. Sure, she has a warm and fuzzy s...
Book Review: Joan Crawford: A Biography
Much like the character of Joan Crawford that she created as her glamorous Hollywood alter ego, Lucille LaSueur was an enigma.
Early on in her film career, when MGM producers shuddered at the thought of audiences struggling to pronounce their new ...
Early on in her film career, when MGM producers shuddered at the thought of audiences struggling to pronounce their new ...
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Top 10 Best Dressed Movie Characters
Whether it's The Joker's bright purple suit, The Bride's vivid yellow tracksuit or Dorothy's ruby red slippers, sometimes a costume can become as famous as the film it's included in. The history of cinema is abundant with well dressed men and women (...
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola
Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel might very well be the blueprint from every kick ass lady in film to follow. Lola Lola is in control - she owns her sexuality, a shocking idea in 1930...
Classic Film Freak
Classic Film Freak, run by the charmingly nom-de-plumed Orson DeWelles, is a nice little site devoted to Hollywood in 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Being something of freaks ourselves, I gotta say that Pretty Clever Films is a bit jealous th...
Hollywood Will Implode (Insert Bass-Drop Sound Here)
In entertainment news recently (and I feel fashionably late to the party on this one in terms of discussion) the legendary Steven Spielberg, alongside “the man”, “the myth” George Lucas, predicted the inevitable end, or I should say the implosion ...
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Hedda Hopper's Hats
Hedda ‘The Hat’ Hopper was one of America’s best known gossip columnists during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her long standing feud with rival Louella Parsons and the legacy of her trademark hats is the stuff movies are made of. ...
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Sissy Spacek as Carrie
Look man, Carrie was a sweet girl - until she was pushed to far. As Sissy Spacek proved in 1976's Carrie, it's the quiet ones you've got to watch for. Carrie kept her cool until she didn't, but when she lost it... she really...
Journeys in Classic Film
Journeys in Classic Film is a solid little classic movie blog from one young classic Hollywood obsessive. Kristen provides a steady stream of classic movie reviews (plus, she takes suggestions) and ...
Movie Review: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)
This film made me laugh, made me (almost) cry and made me glad I’m single. A Complete History of My Sexual Failures chronicles one man’s journey through past relationships in an effort to figure out where he went (and is still going) wrong.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Top 7 Overrated Classic Films
We all have our own personal lists for a topic like this. Each and every one of us has, at one point or another, sat down to watch a critically acclaimed classic only to sit there in puzzlement afterward, wondering what all the hype was about in the ...
Kick Ass Ladies in Film - Pam Grier as Coffy
With a tagline like "Her name is Coffy and she'll cream you," you knew from the outset that the 1973 blaxploitation film Coffy was gonna include one serious, kick ass lady. Indeed, Pam Grier as the leading lady, out...
RogerEbert.Com
Okay, I know this movie site of the day seems like a no-brainer, and if you're in the (vast?) majority who do and have been reading RogerEbert.Com for the past few years, it certainly is that. But, just in case there's a few...
Movie Review: I Bury the Living (1958)
"The next time I see you, George, we'll both be right here." As threats go, that's as explicit as they get in Alfred Band's 1958 film I Bury the Living, a movie whose character's spend most of their time dealing with the imp...
Monday, 8 July 2013
Enter to Win Trance on Blu-ray by Naming Your Fav Kick Ass Lady in Film
From director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) comes the mind-blowing, psychological crime drama Trance. After a blow to the head during his attempted robbery of a $27 million Goya painting, Simon (James McAvoy), a fine-art...
Top 3 Reasons Why North by Northwest is the Best Hitchcock Film
Hitchcock is arguably one of the best directors of all time. Actually, scratch that - Hitchcock is one of the best directors of all time. He maintained excellence and quality throughout his entire career, and fomented some of the strongest c...
They Shoot Pictures Don't They?
It's all auteurs all the time at the marvelous film resource They Shoot Pictures Don't They? Based in Australia and run by cinephile extraordinaire Bill Georgaris, the TSPDT is currently in a transition phas...
Indie Watch: Streamer (2013)
The problem with most short films lies with ambitious, aspiring auteurs trying to cram a 90 minute feature into 9 minutes. The best short films, on the other hand, winnow down the narrative to something more manageable - a vignette, a moment, a morse...
Saturday, 6 July 2013
The Critic
If you're like me and enjoy your television shows littered with movie references, particularly funny ones, then you're probably seen The Critic. Lasting only two seasons and a handful of webisodes, the show had a tightly wov...
Friday, 5 July 2013
Interview with Silvio Soldini, Director of For Other Eyes and Come Undone
Only a minute into a conversation with Silvio Soldini and you'll find yourself in awe at the depths of his thoughtfulness of the world around us. Soldini is proof that we can all find inspiration anywhere, even from the seemingly mundane routines of ...
Thursday, 4 July 2013
10 Great Movie + Music Moments
There are those moments in a good movie, very fleeting, when direction, plot and music all meld to deliver a message that is such a pure hybrid that no other medium could deliver it as perfectly. Music, or absence thereof in films, is one of the most...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Educazione Siberiana (2013)
Educazione Siberiana, directed by Italian Gabriele Salvatores, is a drama based on a memoir about growing up as a member of the Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria. If by drama they mean that the plot will b...
Watch American Landmarks Be Destroyed!
Happy 4th of July, a wee little b-day celebration for the United States. And what better way to celebrate than to engage in one of Hollywood's (and Hollywood is America, no?) passtimes - blowing iconic American landmarks to smithereen! Enjoy and keep...
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Top 10 Frank Capra Movies
If you asked me who my favorite auteur is, I would probably say Alfred Hitchcock. If I you asked me on a day when I was feeling particularly film snobby I might say Truffaut, of course! Or if you asked on a day when I was feeling particularly obtuse,...
Movie Review: World War Z
Okay, World War Z, the new zombie apocalypse flick from one Mr. Brad Pitt, has gotten some pretty mixed reviews. I cannot imagine why they're so mixed. World War Z is smart, fast paced, fun and full...
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Style Evolution: Doris Day - Part 2 (1961-1973)
Doris Day is our conception of the perfect girl next door, but in the later half of her career she really came into her own as a marvelous comedienne. She was able to convey the complexities of marriage with remarkable reality and candor, not to ment...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Viva lItalia (2012)
Imagine a world in which politicians are compelled to say exactly what's on their minds all the time. That's the basic premise of Viva l'Italia, the sophomore directorial effort from Massimiliano Bruno. If you think that sou...
Blu-ray Review: Spring Breakers (2012)
Harmony Korine wants you take Spring Breakers very seriously. Unfortunately, this fact becomes clear not from viewing the movie itself, but from watching the behind-the-scenes featurette included on the upcoming Blu-ray rele...
Monday, 1 July 2013
Top 5 Jimmy Stewart Films
James - or Jimmy, however you like to refer to him - Stewart. A legendary actor and the man who started it all for me. Jimmy Stewart has been my favorite actor ever since I was little; he definitely was one of the reasons why I initially was so inter...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Quiet and mild-mannered British sound technician, Gilderoy (Toby Jones), arrives in Italy to work on a movie. He soon discovers he's employed on a violent horror film, asked to create sound effects rather far from his usual world of documentary and c...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Cavalli (2011)
Michele Rho shows plenty of potential as a director in his first feature film, the dramatic, but misguided, Cavalli (Horses). The film tells the story of the unwavering love and loyalty between Alessandro and h...
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
"September 21st, 1945. That was the night I died."
So begins the opening of Grave of the Fireflies, a Japanese animated film concerning a teenage boy, Seita, and his young sister, Setsuko, adjusting to the wartime atrocit...
So begins the opening of Grave of the Fireflies, a Japanese animated film concerning a teenage boy, Seita, and his young sister, Setsuko, adjusting to the wartime atrocit...
Friday, 28 June 2013
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: The Lost World Cup (2011)
Question: Does one have to be a fan of soccer to be able to enjoy a story about soccer in the 1940s? Not necessarily. If a filmmaker is adept at telling a story in an interesting way, which I assert has been done in this case, then even if one has ze...
Review: Byzantium (2013)
Byzantium is the story of a vampire aptly named Eleanor Webb. Even though she is over 200 years old, Eleanor’s personality still seems stuck in her petulant teenage years - a disposition which compliments her high-school appearance. Ele...
Movie Review: Kill, Baby. . .Kill! (1966)
Much like the town in which it is set, Mario Bava’s Kill, Baby. . .Kill! (1966) is a movie that is and is not hiding something. Dr. Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) is summoned to the late 19th century town of Car...
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Shun Li and the Poet (2011)
Documentary filmmaker Andrea Segre jumps from the real to fiction filmmaking with a touching portrait of dispossessed souls in Shun Li and the Poet (Io Sono Li). Despite a certain surface tranquility, this story of Venice em...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Thermae Romae (2012)
The hero of Hideki Takeuchi's Thermae Romae is Lucius (Hiroshi Abe), a bath house architect in ancient Rome who takes his designs very seriously, but is in need of some inspiration. One day, Lucius becomes submerged in the b...
Movie Review: The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
My introduction to The Battleship Potemkin was in film school. As an undergrad, learning about director Sergei Eisenstein and his association with the Kuleshov School of film theory was imperative, elementary knowledge. The Kuleshov eff...
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Style Evolution: Doris Day - Part 1 (1948-1960)
Doris Day is our conception of the perfect girl next door. Spunky, beautiful, endearing, talented, and boy can she put over a song! Her style evolution over her twenty-five year career is fascinating and, much like the stars...
Keanu Reeves, Vampire Hunter
Lukecool is the title for a film you cannot see. It's the title for a film you cannot discover, download, search-for, rent, stream, or import -- It flat-out doesn't exist... wait, wait, let me clarify this -- It exists but the onl...
Movie Review: Harper (1966)
Harper airs Saturday, June 29 on TCM. Check local listings for time.
Some actors were born to play roles. And some roles could only be played by one actor. Bogart as Rick Blaine and Gable as Rhett Butler come readily to mind. So does Paul...
Some actors were born to play roles. And some roles could only be played by one actor. Bogart as Rick Blaine and Gable as Rhett Butler come readily to mind. So does Paul...
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Films in Bitter/Sweet: The Joyous Cinema of Jacques Demy to Screen at TIFF Cinematheque
Jacques Demy may be the most overlooked auteur who can also be fairly characterized as part of the "French New Wave." Not nearly as experimental as Alain Resnais, nor nearly as political as Jean-Luc Godard, nor nearly as arty as Francois Truffaut, De...
Book Review: Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets
It's easy to become immersed in a book that highlights the dark underbelly of Old Hollywood. All the glitter and glam was nothing more than an illusion and many celebrities lost themselves to the pressures that came with being famous. Much like they ...
Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2013: Benvenuto presidente!
Outside looking in, Italian politics seem pretty surreal. From Silvio Berlusconi's "Bunga Bunga" parties to porn star politician Cicciolina, the non-Italian mind boggles. New film farce Benvenuto presidente!,
Monday, 24 June 2013
Top 3 Western Sheriffs in Classic Movies
The sheriffs in classic movies almost always gets the short end of the stick. They're bullied, they're bruised, and they're always the ones that get shot or blamed. But these sheriffs in classic movies stand above the rest and proved to the wild West...
Movie Review: FOXED!
FOXED! is a 3D, stop-motion animated short film that immediately draws the viewer into a frightening and unforgiving world, where foxes keep a young girl, Emily, as their prisoner. Toronto-based director James Stewart wastes...
Movie Review: Storm Surfers 3D
Storm Surfers 3D, directed by Justin McMillan and Christopher Nelius, is a sports documentary that is a window into the adrenaline-filled world of big-wave surfing. Tom Carroll, along with his best friend, Ross Clarke-Jones,...
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Need a Cartoon Fix?
So for this week's column I'm gonna do something a little different. Instead of yammering on about what animated feature film to watch I'm going to supply you with links to some of my favorite Youtube channels, all showcasing cartoons. These channels...
Friday, 21 June 2013
Review: Stoker (2013)
After Richard Stoker (Dermot Mulroney) dies in a car accident, his mysterious brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) turns up at the stylish family estate now occupied only by Richard's widow Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) and his daughter India (Mia Wasikowska). T...
Thursday, 20 June 2013
My Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Movies
Supposedly what makes you feel guilty about a “guilty pleasure” is despite your enjoyment of it, your fear of discovery of liking/loving said “lowbrow,” “embarrassing” or “campy” material, makes you keep it under wraps. Well, a good friend of mine sa...
Top 10 Movie Scenes That Will Make You Hungry
When it comes to the debate about movies being a cerebral, worthy, meaningful art-form, in defense of film, there's always (thankfully) going to be that appropriately zealous someone to stand up and shout to the heavens: "The cinematic medium is a po...
Top 5 Classic Opening Credit Sequences
There's nothing more engaging than a film that has a memorable opening credit sequence. What better way to immediately grab an audience than to draw them in right from the start? Whether it simply utilizes its iconic score sans image or scrolls throu...
Review: The Wind Is Whistling Under Their Feet (1976)
The vast plains thunder with hoof beats and violence. An outlaw returns from prison seeking vengeance upon those who betrayed him and enters into a psychological duel with the morally ambiguous lawman who brought him to justice the first time. The la...
Review: That Guy...Who Was in That Thing (2012)
That Guy...Who Was in That Thing features interviews with 16 of Hollywood’s most recognizable character actors. The title of the film is very apt as each actor is, at once, both recognizable, but un-nameable, therefore becom...
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Top 6 Chance Relationships in Film
Sometimes people meet because they're in a class together or they happen to work together. Other times, the meet-cute is a little bit more out there, like finding a princess fast asleep on a park bench in Italy. No matter how the two meet, these are ...
Overlooked Gems: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
Before The Great Outdoors, National Lampoons Vacation, or Summer Rental, there was the original summer vacation comedy, 1962’s Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. And to watch it today, with a few minor exceptions,...
Top 5 Lost Films
Cinephiles the world over heave a collective sigh at the startling number of lost films. What exactly are lost films anyway? A film is considered lost if it isn’t known to exist in any studio, public archive or private collection. Roughly be...
Review: Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa
The synopsis on Mubi for Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa reads as follows:
“As an actress, photographer, and official filmmaker for the Nazi party, Leni Riefenstahl is a controv...
“As an actress, photographer, and official filmmaker for the Nazi party, Leni Riefenstahl is a controv...
Monday, 17 June 2013
Top 10 Silent Comedians You've Never Heard Of
While reading Steve Massa's fantastic Lame Brains and Lunatics: The Good, The Bad, and The Forgotten of Silent Comedy, I started to feel like film's silent comedians were clowns packed into a tiny circus car. Just when I thought there couldn...
Top 5 Movie Lolitas
Stoker, the latest offering from critically acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook, director of the now classic Oldboy, features one of cinema's favorite tropes - a Lolita. Named for Vladimir Nabovkov's tit...
Win Stoker on Blu-Ray
Lake of Bays Brewery and one keen (and maybe slightly drunken) film critic, that's w...
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Top 7 Underrated Film Noir Performances
Known for its German Expressionist-inspired visual style, film noir is a hybrid of gangster flick and detective mystery with an often pessimistic look at the greater social problems. Noirs are usually set in dark, crime-riddled cities -- places that ...
Dementia 13: A 50th Anniversary Worth Celebrating?
This year we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s first offering as a film director. In September 1963, American International and Roger Corman released Dementia 13, one of the most inauspicious debuts fr...
Review: The Purge (2013)
Although The Purge, written/directed by James Demonaco, had a concept that gave me shivers, the hype was unfortunately was not worthy of the film. The Purge is set in the USA in 2022, when an annual...
Review: Detroit Wild City (2011)
Detroit Wild City is a French made documentary feature film that examines the fall of a once great American city through the eyes of residents born and raised in Detroit, Michigan aka ‘Mo-town’. Interspersed between disconne...
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
How To Marry A Millionaire (1953)
What makes How To Marry A Millionaire a thoroughly enjoyable film? Is it because it stars the beautiful Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall in Technicolor? Maybe. Could it be that this was 20th Century-Fox’s first CinemaScope film...
The Dissolve
We're so on top of what's hot in the movie sites world here at Pretty Clever Films, we're going to tell you about a film website that doesn't even exist yet. Yeah... word to yo mama. Chicago based The Dissolve is set to laun...
Review: Before Midnight (2013)
"Before Midnight is so good, I could cry about it... I'll try to write a review instead." This was my first attempt at putting down some sort of immediate reaction, to the film, in written form via twitter. Since seeing the ...
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Book Review: Songs My Mother Taught Me
"I can draw no conclusions from my life because it is a continually evolving and unfolding process."
- Marlon Brando, Songs My Mother Taught Me
It still seems strange that, back in 1994, Marlon Brando agreed to r...
- Marlon Brando, Songs My Mother Taught Me
It still seems strange that, back in 1994, Marlon Brando agreed to r...
Ben Model’s Accidentally Preserved, Volume 1
Our culture has been disposable for much longer than people realize. Before the era of cellphone upgrades, Ultra HD and other forms of planned obsolescence, there was disposable entertainment like comic books and movie advertisements ...
Monday, 10 June 2013
Top 6 Worst Benders in a Movie
Many people's quest to "have a good time at a party" is often thwarted due to a variety of reasons - either by unpleasant people they happen to run into, the party ends up being the ever-common term: lame, or, the most common, they indulge too much. ...
Review: Doctor X (1932)
In Doctor X, Newspaper man Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy) dogs the New York City police as they investigate the "Moon Killer Murders," a spate of serial killings that leave victims stabbed with a scalpel and cannibalized. When polic...
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Berkshire International Film Festival 2013: Frances Ha (2013)
Noah Baumbach seems to have tirelessly studied the "coming of age" genre, garnering both commercial attention and critical acclaim with his breakout feature The Squid and the Whale and his latest "dealing with age" film
MacGuffin Movies!...