Category Archives: Film Listings/Ratings

Good mixing of genre and themes in this rough, grimy, violent and excellent Brazilian film. It is not clear what it is going to be about till maybe a third of the way through. It’s like nothing else that I’ve seen. Sure it borrows from Seven Samurai and others I suppose but the location, aContinue reading “Bacurau (Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho – 2019) B+”

I expected a horror movie, as in a haunted house type thing. It is not. It’s a much more effective tale about grief, guilt and how difficult it is to be a stranger in a strange country. Sure it has elements of the horror genre but like the best of them it is about muchContinue reading “His House (Remi Weekes – 2020) B+”

Some fun action scenes and a cool opening 10 minutes or so, but this is an overlong, silly, weird (not in a good way) mess.

The best thing about Mank is that it made me re-watch Citizen Kane. As well-made and charming this film is I did not think it came together very well. It’s got great performances, excellent set pieces here and there and really good dialogue. Yet, it left me a bit cold. The parts were really muchContinue reading “Mank (David Fincher – 2020) B-“

I went back to see this -first time I had seen it was maybe 15 years ago- before I watched David Fincher’s Mank. I did not expect to be so entertained and amazed by how fantastic this film truly is. It deserves every accolade it receives for how ahead of its time it is, true,Continue reading “Citizen Kane (Orson Welles – 1941) A+”

Excellent horror. Not too often I say that, but this one delivers on weirdness, creepiness and style. It does not shy away from horrific imagery while still not a gore fest or exploitative. Guadagnino is really a master and I have loved all films he’s made. The pacing of his movies is always deliberate andContinue reading “Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino – 2018) A-“

To say Sleiman is subtle, quiet and understated is and understatement. I do not think he smiled or raised his voice in the entire movie. He has been working in shipyards in southern France for the last 30 years, has just been laid off. He lives in a room over a cafe and he sleepsContinue reading “The Secret of the Grain (Abdellatif Kechiche – 2007) B+”

Holds up very well and the black and white suits this dark spy thriller perfectly. Richard Burton delivers and excellent performance as British Agent Alec Leamas who is deep undercover in East Berlin during the cold war. Like pretty much all of John Le Carre spy stories this is about process, look and feel andContinue reading “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Martin Ritt – 1965) B+”