I. Chim Chim Cheree This is the catchiest tune in the whole film. It is so simple and yet so inexplicably endearing. Bert nearly steals the whole film from Mary Poppins with this song, showing his cheery disposition, but also hinting at the underlying injustice – “the social ladder has been strung”. Pavement Artist is the…
Author: Spotlight on Film
Providing in-depth reviews of films since 2011.
7 Films Based on Graphic Novels/Comics
In no particular order and excluding “superhero” comics, including Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and the Marvel Universe. I. Alan Moore is a force to be reckoned with. He is the creator of so many epic graphic novels, from Watchmen and Batman: The Killing Joke to Jerusalem and V for Vendetta. His graphic novel From Hell (1999)…
7 Films Based on Japanese Manga
I. Edge of Tomorrow is a great sci-fi film about one Major who wakes up with each day being repeated, but the catch is that this day is the day of the invasion battle with aliens. This Groundhog Day-concept works brilliantly in the story, and Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt’s chemistry is unbelievably good. However,…
Short Animation: Dinner for Few
This highly thought-provoking animation of 2014 is from animator Nassos Vakalis. It presents a powerful allegory of a society, from the use of resources and corruption to the control of the masses and revolution.
10 Great Films Based on Plays (Part II)
As Part I, this list is in no particular order and excludes adaptations of Shakespearean plays.
Short Animation: Happiness
Steve Cutts is a London-based illustrator and animation, and this is his short animation Happiness, where he satirises the modern society and its activities, including the goal to “find happiness” in material things and capitalistic culture. It is set to Georges Bizet’s aria Habanera from the opera Carmen.
Spotlight on Editing & Directing: Verhoeven’s RoboCop (1987)
With its “body-horror” preoccupation, excessive violence, and tongue-in-cheek dialogues, RoboCop (1987) is a quintessential 1980s film, inspired by Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) and made on the back of the success of The Terminator (1984). There are many things that made it good, including its cinematography provided by Jost Vacano (Das Boot (1981)), its unusual…
10 “Must-See” Japanese Films
This list excludes anime, and, to ensure variety, includes only two films from any one director. I. Tokyo Story [1953] Tokyo Story is one of the greatest films of all time. Director Yasujirō Ozu’s trade-mark subtlety in rendering a picture so quietly powerful is seen here as in no other film as a story is told…
Back to School: 10 Incredible Films
This is a list of ten great films set at school or academic environment.
“March of the Penguins” Review
March of the Penguins (La Marche de l’empereur) (2005) “Penguins are living lessons in caring for the earth and its creatures, in all their beauty and vulnerability.” Charles Bergman This beautiful documentary, narrated by Morgan Freeman, gets close and personal with emperor penguins, marvellous, unique animals that reside in one of the harshest environments found…
15 Great World War II Films
Schindler’s List (1993) The Pianist (2002) Life is Beautiful (1997) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1953) Fires on the Plain (1959) Downfall (2004) Ivan’s Childhood (1962) The Red Thin Line (1998) Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Come and See (1985) Dunkirk (2017) Rome, Open City (1945) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Saving Private Ryan (1998) The…
“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” Review
Downfall (2022) I love scrupulously-put-together documentaries that deal with criminal or social justice issues, and Downfall is one of them. It shows the rise and fall of the engineering company Boeing in the context of two airplane disasters that happened in October 2018 (Lion Air Flight) and March 2019 (Ethiopian Airlines Flight) and involved the…
“Titane” Review
Titane [2021] – ★★★★ 🔥 Titane hypnotises and mystifies as it repels and shocks, delivering not only a story, but also “an experience”. Titane is the second feature film of French director Julia Ducournau (Raw (2017)) and the Palme d’Or winner of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film is not for the faint of…
Film Scene Spotlight: Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata
As seen from a number of his other films, Ingmar Bergman was very interested in the relationship between two women (one dominant and another submissive), but, in Autumn Sonata, he presented something truly complex and sublime.
5 Foreign Films That Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part II)
This is the second part of my list of foreign films that should have been nominated for an Academy Awards. As my previous list – 5 Foreign Films that Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part I) – I am listing only those films that were officially submitted by their respective countries for consideration. I….
Soviet Winter Animation: The Mitten (1967)
This sweet stop-motion animation from the Soviet Union titled The Mitten (“Варежка“) was directed by Roman Kachanov (director of The Mystery of the Third Planet (1981), but who also worked on such animations as The Snow Maiden (1952) and The Scarlet Flower (1952)). The 10-minute silent animation is about a girl who longs to have…
5 Foreign Films That Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part I)
The Academy Awards have always had a very difficult relationship with experimental and artistic films or with films d‘auteur, but, nevertheless, below are five films that should have received at least a Best Foreign Film nomination by the Academy (if not a win) and were unjustly ignored. I am listing only the films that were…
“The Power of the Dog” Review
The Power of the Dog [2021] – ★★★★1/2 “Deliver my soul from the sword/My darling from the power of the dog” (Psalms, Preface to Thomas Savage’s novel The Power of the Dog (1967)). The Power of the Dog centres on two very different brothers Phil and George Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons) living on…
Actor Spotlight: Montgomery Clift
Clift was one of the most talented American actors and, unfortunately, one of the most misunderstood ones, who valued the craft of acting above financial success or even critical/public opinion…
“The Last Black Man in San Francisco” Review
The Last Black Man in San Francisco [2019] – ★★★1/2 “There is no place like home”. Housing is an important but often overlooked topic in films (see my discussion of two notable films about housing here). The Last Black Man in San Francisco, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019, tells…
Spotlight on Film 