Category film review
Man With A Movie Camera (1929): Quick-shot review!
In Dziga Vertov’s experimental silent film Man With A Movie Camera (1929), we follow a cameraman as he films everyday scenes in Soviet life – busy streets, beaches, haircuts, birth, marriage, divorce, a funeral, working with machinery. We also see ‘behind the scenes’ as the film itself is being edited. The film shows both 24 […]
Four Silent Shorts: Dots (1940), Emak-Bakia (1926), Ghosts Before Breakfast (1928), Anémic Cinéma (1926)
More silent shorts, four in fact, with paragraph reviews and a rating for each. It’s the return of this guy!
Two Silent Shorts: The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928), Un Chien Andalou (1929).
My obsession with short silent film continues! Here are two shorts that I watched recently, reviewed in paragraph form. Spoiler alert: these are both amazing films.
The Hunt (2012): “The whole town is listening.”
The Hunt (2012), directed by Thomas Vinterberg, approaches some familiar themes with a very unique approach and focus. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) works at a kindergarten, where he has a great rapport with the kids he looks after. He’s also a single dad hoping to gain custody of his only son. When a young girl at […]
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. […]
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!
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 […]
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 