Spotlight on Film

“Minimalist” Film Posters

For awhile now I have been a fan of “minimalist” film posters. These are posters which show little details from films, but which often say a lot about a movie. They are frequently very simple, clever and creative. They are thought-provoking because most of them capture the very essence of a film and can distil…

The “No, YOU’RE Crying!” Blogathon: Head in the Clouds (2004)

Debbie at Moon in Gemini is hosting the “No, YOU’RE Crying!” Blogathon, and I thought I would be part of that amazing film race. It is great when a film is so powerful emotionally that it makes you cry, even though there may not be many films out there who possess this enviable quality. Of…

“Personal Shopper” Review

Personal Shopper [2016] – ★★1/2 In Personal Shopper, a film by Olivier Assayas (Paris, je t’aime (2006)), Kristen Stewart plays a young woman Maureen, who mourns the loss of her twin brother Lewis. Maureen visits the house where Lewis lived with his girlfriend, and believes that his ghost will try to communicate with her. In…

“Brimstone” Review

Brimstone [2017] – ★★★★ Brimstone is a highly controversial film produced by Dutch director Martin Koolhoven. The film’s non-linear plot follows Liz (Dakota Fanning), a young girl and then woman, who is plagued by the harassment and persecution of one – the Reverend (Guy Pearce). Unflinching in a way it portrays controversial topics and beautiful…

Rome: 10 “Must-See” Films Set in the City

Being a cultural and historical centre for centuries, Rome has always attracted leading cinematographers. In the 1950s and 1960s, Rome was considered the European “Hollywood”, embodied in the famous Cinecittà film studio that produced such epic films as Ben-Hur (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). To this day, this historic city remains the one to which filmmakers flock…

Gloves in Films: Hiding True Character and Desires

This will be my 200th post on this website, and I thought I would do something different. I have always been fascinated with objects and their symbolic meanings in films, and some object-placements in films evoke powerful imagery that is open to different symbolic interpretations. On the face of it, gloves in films do not…

The Jack Lemmon Blogathon: Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

Critica Retro and Wide Screen World are hosting the Jack Lemmon blogathon, and I thought I would jump in and contribute since Jack Lemmon was such a great actor, and I particularly admire his versatility and dedication to the screen. He was cast in such well-known films as Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment…

“Nocturnal Animals” Review

Nocturnal Animals [2016] – ★★★★ After directing critically-acclaimed A Single Man back in 2009, Tom Ford has decided to try his hand in directing something darker and more complicated, an adaptation of the novel by Austin Wright Tony and Susan. Nocturnal Animals is a drama/thriller having two stories running in parallel: one in which Susan…

“Christine” Review

Christine [2016] – ★★★★ Christine is a drama by Antonio Campos, based on the real life of Christine Chubbuck, a TV reporter in the 1970s in the US, whose troubled professional/personal life leads her to commit one of the most chilling and gruesome acts on live television. In this film, the lead character is played…

“The Neon Demon” Review

The Neon Demon [2016] – ★★ 📷 Despite the visual beauty of certain scenes, Refn’s parade of random and confused ideas about LA show business and its qualities and appearances, produces a film which is the pretentious boredom, or the boring pretentiousness itself (as you like it). “Beauty isn’t everything. It’s the only thing”, says Roberto…

25 “Must-See” Biographical Films

In no particular order: 1. Schindler’s List (1993) 2. The Aviator (2004) 3. Elizabeth (1998) 4. Gandhi (1982) 5. Milk (2008)

Studio Ghibli: “Only Yesterday” & “Kiki’s Delivery Service”

Only Yesterday is a beautifully-drawn animation, a masterful portrayal of childhood longing and nostalgia for the past.

10 “Must-See” Films about Cults

In no particular order: 1. The Master (2012) 2. The Wicker Man (1973) 3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) 4. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 5. Ticket to Heaven (1981)

“Hacksaw Ridge” Review

Hacksaw Ridge [2016] – ★★★★1/2 An inspiring story about an unconventional hero? A graphic tale of the brutality of a war? A touching and believable love story? Mel Gibson can do it all, and brilliantly. His latest film Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a kind, deeply-religious young man who…

The Ultimate 90s Blogathon: Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns is a Tim Burton film through-and-through. Rich in visuals, it is grim, fantastical and strangely enticing.

“Silence”: Book Comparison & Character Study

“This is not the sort of film you “like” or “don’t like”. It’s a film that you experience – and then live with” (Matt Zoller Seitz).

“Indignation” Review

Indignation [2016] – ★★★★ Indignation is a directional debut of screen-writer and producer James Schamus, known for adapting the script of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and being producer of Brokeback Mountain (2005). Adapting a book by Philip Roth, in Indignation, Schamus presents the life of Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman), a bright lad who, while…

“The Handmaiden” Review

The Handmaiden [2016] – ★★★★★ 🖌️ Fiercely intelligent, unapologetically erotic and endlessly stylish, The Handmaiden is a perfect film that toys with the audience’s expectations and formed beliefs. The Handmaiden is an award-winning erotic psychological drama directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy (2003), Stoker (2013)), and based on/inspired by the novel Fingersmith (2002) by Sarah Waters. The film…

Pearl: 360-degree Oscar-nominated Short Animation

Navigate with your mouse inside the video to get the most out of this amazing short animation! 🙂

“Rebecca” Review

Rebecca [1940] – ★★★★1/2 “…I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end” (Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca (1938)). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca is adapted from the best-selling novel…