Author Archives: Anna (Film Grimoire)
The Act of Killing (2012): “My conscience told me they had to be killed.”
Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing (2013) is a surreal documentary about a dark time in Indonesia’s history. In 1965 to ’66, an anti-communist purge occurred all throughout the country, as a new president was elected and the country’s Communist Party was decimated. Death squads were responsible for killing one million communists and ethnic Chinese. […]
“Is it worth paying for a ticket?”: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is based on a memoir of the same name by prolific, filthy rich ex-criminal Jordan Belfort. The film follows the events of the book, starting with Jordan as a beginner stockbroker. He’s hoping to become successful on Wall Street, when all of a sudden the big stockmarket crash of […]
Blogathon: Life, Love, and the Movies
This is a fun little blogathon that was started up by two amazing film blogs, Karamel Kinema and My Filmviews. It’s about the personal connections that we have with cinema, and consists of 16 questions. Some of these questions were really tough, but resulted in some interesting answers that were a bit surprising for me!
The James Bond Franchise: A ranking of all films.
As a big fan of the James Bond franchise (a direct result of being in a relationship with a Bond obsessive for ~7 years), I’ve always meant to do a ranking of all the films but have never really bothered with it. Today is the day it finally happens!
“Is it worth paying for a ticket?”: Blue Jasmine (2013)
Blue Jasmine (2013), Woody Allen’s most recent film, tells the story of Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) – a troubled woman whose privileged lifestyle has recently changed drastically. Finding herself destitute and moving in with her sister, Jasmine wants to get back to her old status as soon as possible, with some mishaps along the way.
Fishing Without Nets (2012): “If I fish with violence, will my net be full of blood?”
Cutter Hodierne’s short fictional film Fishing Without Nets (2012) confronts the issue of piracy in Somalia. Shot using non-actors on location in East Africa, the film is a brief yet blunt portrayal of life as a Somali pirate, and gives an insight into what might lure an individual into a life of piracy from a […]
Like Someone In Love (2012): Quick-shot review!
Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love (2012) is a divisive but charming film that follows Akiko (Rin Takanashi), a university student who also works as a prostitute. Akiko meets her client for the night: a man old enough to be her grandfather. The situation grows increasingly complicated as her fiance, who is unaware of her […]
Frances Ha (2013): “This apartment is so aware of itself.”
Noah Baumbach’s ode to mumblecore Frances Ha (2013) is a surprising film that will defy your expectations. Frances Halliday (Greta Gerwig) is your typical ‘young modern person’ trying to find her way in life. After an awkward break-up, Frances’ living situation becomes increasingly complicated, as does the search for her own life’s purpose. We follow […]
Only God Forgives (2013): “Time to meet the devil.”
An intentionally symbolic story about revenge, Only God Forgives (2013, dir. Nicholas Winding Refn) is the story of Julian (Ryan Gosling), who runs a boxing club in Bangkok, Thailand, but also does quite a bit of drug smuggling on the side. When a member of his family is slaughtered, Julian’s mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) convinces him that […]
Four Silent Shorts: Regen (1929), H2O (1929), A Bronx Morning (1931), Autumn Fire (1931).
I’m still on my short silent films obsession, and have watched four more since my previous post. Just like before, I’ll post a quick paragraph review for each. I’ve been finding a lot of gems in this binge-watch of a very specific nature. Plus all this talk of shorts is reminding me of this guy, […]
FILM GRIMOIRE 