Nightmare Alley was as well known for being taken out of circulation for a long time (and being difficult for cinephiles to locate) as anything else. It was largely unavailable for most of the second half of the twentieth century and not exactly easy to track down until very recently either. Director Edmund Goulding is best known for Grand Hotel (1932) but this is his best little stretch of work here post World War II with The Razor’s Edge in 1946 and Nightmare Alley in 1947. Both The Razor’s Edge and Nightmare Alley feature Tyrone Power- better known as a

Days is cinematic minimalism from auteur Ming-liang Tsai. Like all of Ming-liang Tsai’s previous efforts, Days features the Taiwanese actor Kang-sheng Lee There is a note before the film that the film will be intentionally unsubtitled. After all, this is the artist behind Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) and Stray Dogs (2013). The first shot is just a man (Kang-sheng Lee) in a white t-shirt (even that is minimal) watching the rain. It lasts just over four minutes. Ming-liang Tsai is preoccupied with the idea of isolation contrasted with communal living. Themes that are relevant in any times- but particularly

Thirst is one of the few Ingmar Bergman films that he directs- but did not write (the most notable and best of which is 1960’s The Virgin Spring). This is already Bergman’s seventh (7th) film as director. Early in the film, there is a long take of Ruth (Eva Henning) character pacing back and forth—Bergman is not quite yet on the level of Renoir or Ophuls, but this makes for a splendid 4-5 minute shot. To that effect, Bergman’s camera will often slip through walls in Ruth’s apartment- like when Bertil’s (Birger Malmsten) wife confronts her. This is a

It is bizarrely comforting to see Peter Strickland’s name come across in the opening titles. Strickland always authors an unconventional work- a breath of fresh air- and In Fabric does not disappoint. This is really not a story about people (though Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s Sheila– most notably from Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies- is the most recognizable and identifiable face and character) – but about a haunted red dress that destroys everything in its path. Sheila is a simple woman, a good woman. She dates through singles ads in the paper- she works at the post office. Her life is

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is probably best remembered (aside from that magnificent title taken from Lauren Hill’s famous album name) as one of the two 2018 movies about high school teens being forced to submit to LGBT conversion therapy. The other being Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased. Set in 1993 Handsome small cursive titles during the opening credits. Director Desiree Akhavan opens the film with a montage of young faces getting lectured- this is a compelling drama. Chloë Grace Moretz plays the titular Cameron—and it is great to see Sasha Lane from Andrea Arnold’s American Honey (2016) find a

From the script to the performances to the production design, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is fully committed to its own absurdity Kristen Wiig deserves much of the credit for the end results here. Wiig has been one of the greatest comediennes for quite some time- and she both co-writes the film and has a duel role as both the villainous Sharon Gordon Fisherman and as the titular Star. Fitting needle drop music choices like “Guilty” from Barbara Streisand and Shania Twain’s “Man! I feel Like a Woman!” Both Wiig and Annie Mumolo (playing Barb- and

Peter Strickland’s 2014 effort The Duke of Burgundy is his finest film to date. The story surrounds Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) and Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) as lovers in a remote village set in the past where the study of moths and butterflies (lepidopterology) seem to be the main focus in life (outside of Evelyn’s sexual fetishes). The film explores the themes of dominance and obedience- Strickland is not interested in cheap exploitation though. He is interested in human nature (examining the species and these characters like the characters examine the butterflies) and the complexity and strain on relationship this

Pedro Almodovar is fascinated by a certainly type of love- a love to the extreme- to the point of madness. He often juxtaposes it with true love- he notes the distinction- but also is quick to remind the viewer that it a thin line.  In Broken Embraces, Harry Caine (again for Almodovar- a pseudonym) is a blind writer (again, using a typewriter). The story tracks Harry (alias Mateo Blanco- played by Lluis Homar) when he is a blind writer in the modern day (2008) and when he was known as Mateo as a director who could see in 1992.

The Sound of Music was the second biggest box office film ever (Gone with the Wind -adjusted for inflation) at the time of its release (it is still #3) and hailed by some as one of the best films of all-time. Others decry it outright and point to some of the “you wait for the sun to come out” schlock as evidence of its worthlessness. The truth, at least artistically, lies somewhere in-between. Robert Wise was riding a career high coming into The Sound of Music. He made West Side Story in 1961 and The Haunting in 1963. This

Killer’s Kiss is young (27-years old in 1955) Stanley Kubrick’s sophomore effort after 1953’s Fear and Desire. Both films are short (between 60-70 minutes) and feature intriguing titles- Killer’s Kiss, in particular, has to be up there with the all-time greats. It is worth noting that although Kubrick had essentially no budget- this is still shot in 35mm. In the 2020s, nearly seventy years later, some established auteurs are still working on 16mm because of the higher cost of 35mm. Kubrick’s background was in photography- and this is an ode to 1950s New York City- and to the night-