There is nothing like Hollywood turning the camera on itself. The depiction of screenwriters or scriptwriters on film (usually, Hollywood prefers just writers, and, often, alcoholic writers) is not a big theme, but it is still illuminating. From satire to thriller, below are five films that spotlight the profession of writing for film that emerged…
Tag: Films
Short Reviews: Big Night (1996), & Return to Dust (2022)
Big Night [1996] – ★★★★ They say there can never be two chefs in the kitchen, but Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci proved there can be two directors on a movie set and a glaring success. This drama-comedy is based on a book by Joseph Tropiano and set in the 1950s, telling of two very…
Short Reviews: Utama (2022), & There Will Be No Leave Today (1958)
Utama [2022] – ★★★1/2 Everything seems close to extinction in this film: a place, a mode of life, a language (Quechua), and maybe even the film itself, with its slow pace which may now be compared unfavourably with the recent popular trend of fast-paced, genre-bending flicks. Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s debut film Utama follows an elderly…
“White Material” Review
White Material [2009] – ★★★★1/2 White Material is set in one unspecified French colonial African country, and follows Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert), an owner of a large coffee plantation. Well-known to the area, Maria lives on the estate with her ex-husband Andre (Christopher Lambert), her ex-husband’s father Henri and grown-up son Manuel. However, there are…
10 Great Films Based on Plays (Part II)
As Part I, this list is in no particular order and excludes adaptations of Shakespearean plays.
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…
“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…
“The Mauritanian” Review
The Mauritanian [2020] – ★★★★ Based on a memoir Guantamano Diary (2015), this film tells the true story of Mohamedou Ould Salahi (played by Tahar Rahim), a man from Mauritania who was arrested on heresy some time after the 9/11 terrorist attack and then spent 14 years (from 2002 to 2016) in the notorious Guantanamo…
5 Films Based on Remarkable True Stories
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and there are many interesting films of this or last year which are based on true stories, including Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Tesla, Hillbilly Elegy, The Dig and The Mauritanian. Crime and war films are often inspired by real stories (Catch Me If You Can [2002], The Pianist [2002]) and I previously compiled a list of 25 “Must-See” Biographical Films (see also my related list of 5 Great Films About Adventurers Based on Real Stories). Below are five films which were based on, or inspired by, real stories which, in turn, are simply remarkable.
Short Reviews: The Servant, A Kiss Before Dying, & Isle of the Dead
The Servant…one of Britain’s most memorable cinematic creations.
“I, Daniel Blake” Review
I, Daniel Blake [2016] – ★★★★★ Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake is a kind of film whose theme of the individual vs. the system, brutal honesty and underlying power make it a compulsory watch for everyone. The story centres on Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), a…
Short Reviews: Raise the Red Lantern, Quiz Show, & Close-Up
With an exquisitely beautiful cinematography (by Zgao Fei), Raise the Red Lantern is one of the most important films of the 1990s and a true cinematic masterpiece.
7 Great Films About Pianists
My last review focused on a cellist who was forced to abandon his chosen profession and resort to a more undesirable one. This got me thinking about musicians in films, and I am presenting below seven great films that focus on pianists, their lives and struggles. While some pianists below are completely fictional, such as Ada in The Piano or Tom in The Talented Mr. Ripley, others are based on real-life people, including David Helfgott in Shine and Mozart in Amadeus.
“Departures” Review
Departures [2008] – ★★★★1/2 Departures is the Japanese winner of the 2009 Academy Award in the category of the Best Foreign Language Picture. Loosely based on a memoir by Shinmon Aoki titled Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician, it tells the story of Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), an ex-cellist who comes to his home…
“(Little) Stars in Their Eyes”: How Hollywood Makes and Breaks its Child Actors
We all know past childhood or teenage horrors/troubles of such celebrities as Judy Garland, Macaulay Culkin, River Phoenix or Lindsay Lohan. We also know the examples of successful transitions from child actors to adult stars, such as the Harry Potter cast. In this post, I would like to highlight three child actors (some alive and some already dead) who were essentially let down by Hollywood, and their cases were really such that more effort and support should have been given to see these child actors’ transition to adult actors or adults with other careers – especially since so much was done by Hollywood to elevate them to their “star” status from their very young ages.
“Little Joe” Review
Little Joe [2019] – ★1/2 Little Joe is a British/Austrian/German-produced film that was selected to compete at the Cannes Film Festival 2019. In this story, Alice Woodard (Emily Beecham) works at a special laboratory that produces genetically-modified flowers for the public market. Alice and her team have managed to produce one type of a plant…
Lost in Translation: 15 Film Titles Gone Astray
Film titles are important for marketing, and the correct translation of a title, taking into account cultural sensitivity, contributes to making that film a success. It is more surprising, therefore, that some English-language titles are being translated in such a way that leads to all sorts of problems, and at best, may sound funny and…
Unpopular Opinion Tag (Films)
Richard at The Humpo Show has tagged me to get involved in this Unpopular Opinion Tag (Films edition), and I thought it would be great fun since I have to pick three films generally loved by most people, but which I find undeserving of all the hype and explain my choices. Thanks again, Richard! In…