Everyone loves a Final Girl, myself included. I love when chicks survive whatever mindf*@king series of violent punishments befall them in film. Revenge is a fatal dish best served . . .
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THREE MOVIES THAT COME AT CURRENT ISSUES IN A UNIQUE WAY #3: Bad Education (2004, dir by Pedro Almodovar). We wanted to highlight three 21st century movies that have come at a current topic in a uniquely engaging way. First up is Pedro Almodovar's fascinating movie on the sexual abuse countless Catholic children and adults suffered by clergy who were protected from accountability by higher ups. Rather than tell a straight ahead didactic story. . .
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GREAT MOVIE SPEECHES ON SOCIAL JUSTICE: Charlie Chaplin's final speech at the end of THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940, dir by Charlie Chaplin). Today we wanted to highlight three instances of incredibly powerful, moving movie speeches on the importance of social justice. It's very hard in movies to get this tone right. So often, though their intentions may be noble, filmmakers can. . .
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SPIKE LEE MOVIES #5: He Got Game (directed by Spike Lee) In this programmer's opinion, one of Spike Lee's absolute best movies, HE GOT GAME tells the story of an imprisoned father played with raw rage and vitality by Denzel Washington who gets a brief furlough to try to convince his estranged basketball star son (played by real basketball legend Ray Allen) to play for a certain college team. But like many of Lee's movies. . .
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Today we look at two amazing masterpiece movies by filmmaker Charles Burnett. First up is. . .
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GREAT MOVIES OF 2015: In this blog post, we take a look at 12 great movies (in this programmer's opinion) of 2015. As a kind of science experiment, you might want to look at the pictures that won the awards in 2015 versus the ones we discuss here. You certainly may have a different take than we do. But 2015 proved that it's often the passage of time that's the real arbiter of the movies we come back to. First up. . .
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First up, three movies by master John Ford. Ford's YOUNG MR LINCOLN is part of an unbelievable streak of films (all of which we highly recommend) that includes STAGECOACH, THE LONG VOYAGE HOME, and THE GRAPES OF WRATH. All made within 1 year of each other. What's so amazing about YOUNG MR LINCOLN is actually the incredible reserve and tact Ford displays. Lesser directors would have. . .
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The Old Dark House (1932, directed by James Whale) Haunted house films are a staple of Halloween movie delights. They are sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, with interesting ensembles. They span from the earliest of recorded cinema (look for The Haunted Castle from 1896 on YouTube, it’s tons of fun) all the way up until yesterday. One of the earliest spooky house movies. . .
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We wanted to explore 3 of Cuaron's previous films today. First up is the last movie he made in Mexico before ROMA, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. It tells the story of two teenage friends on the cusp of adulthood who go on a road trip with a woman in her 30's in the hopes of basically having sex. . .
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BALLAD TO BUÑUEL #3: L'AGE D'OR (1930) Today, we'd like to sing the praises of totally singular auteur Spanish surreal filmmaker Luis Buñuel (1900-1983). Buñuel made early surrealist masterpieces, middle period Mexican surreal yet socially biting dramas, and a final French period that ended with one of the greatest "last" movies this programmer has ever scene. In his first phase. . .
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Guest writer Stephanie Sack on the giallo masterpiece of loneliness Footprints on the Moon (Bazzoni, 1975, Italy)
I have never been lonelier than when I have been with other people.
That is one of the worst feelings in worlds both known and unknown. If you are anywhere in or near or approaching that corridor of aching cold, for whatever reason, right now, I got you. I get it. It's horrible. No thank you.
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