12 Monkeys finds Terry Gilliam back in the world of retro-looking future dystopias (Brazil) and this dense (and genius) narrative is a perfect match for the Gilliam aesthetic like Brazil- Gilliam looks back to the past for the design of his dystopia inventive and detailed- this is cinematic world-building at its finest That aesthetic includes his hoarder/garbage art production design detail and his wild choices with camera angles and lenses- including the canted/dutch angle near constant use of the canted/dutch angle-- Gilliam is surely a student of Welles-- even more than most

A massive hit in the summer of 1993—it puts Pollack back in the thriller genre (Three Days of the Condor) and certainly carries your attention for the full 154-minute running time It has to be viewed a bit of a disappointment with the talent involved. The source material is Grisham, Pollack as I mentioned at the helm, the cast is ridiculous: Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman leading the way- to Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter (an Oscar nom in about 5 minutes of screen time), Jeanne Tripplehorn, bald Ed Harris, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey (chewing every second of his scene),

James Cameron's seventh (7th) feature film-- and last film before Avatar in 2009-- a 194 minute romance historical epic also works as a disaster film like the popular subgenre during the 1970's from Towering Inferno to The Poseidon Adventure mock it if you will- but I don't think there's much arguing with the beauty of Celine Deion vocalizing the justifiably iconic James Horner score Magnificent match transitions both coming in and out of flashbacks Magnificent match transitions both coming in and out of flashbacks A dozen transcendent-level establishing shots of ships-- immaculate computer simulated crane shots at least a

This is a film I’ve seen before and has a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes- but if you read through most of the praise—the praise is directed towards the intelligent (albeit dense) adaptation and narrative from of Len Deighton’s source material or/and the acting work from relative newcomer (this is before Alfie but after Zulu) Michael Caine as Harry Palmer. Both of those aspects of the film deserve praise for sure and that’s where I was at when I saw it 10-15 years ago—this is a very solid Cold War thriller—full stop. However, upon closer examination— there is much

Gilliam moved on from trilogy of imagination in the 1980’s (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) to a new trilogy- the trilogy of Americana in the 1990’s starting strongly with The Fisher King At first blush it appears heavier than anything he’s done before— more grounded in reality (for a Gilliam effort)—a Howard Stern-like radio DJ turned alcoholic (Jeff Bridges) and the interconnected life of one of his victims (by proxy with a listener and a mass shooter/murderer). Robin Williams in his second collaboration with Gilliam. It is an ambitiously and unsubtly (is there any other kind

Over the years (this is his 10th feature)- Ming-liang Tsai seems to have crystalized his style. The camera is almost always static (a few slow pans here and there), long takes, silence (I bet the “screenplay” here if there is one is no more than a few pages long and we’re over 2 hours here). There is rain --I believe this connects not only to the melancholic mood—but a sort of end of days biblical parable or Armageddon (there’s a story here about the house crying). An impressive formal work-- Apichatpong Weerasethakul it a good comparison. I feel like

With his patented long takes, sparse dialogue, stationary camera, lack of close-ups, and undoubtedly his own unique rhythm —this is strong auteur cinema. Yet, like many of Ming-liang Tsai’s prior works (this is his eighth feature), there are a few stunning compositions, but also 15-20 minute stretches that simply do not impress Opens on a composition of a man resting/sleeping/recovering in a hospital bed, opera is playing, the window open. It isn’t just a title- the I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone describes the film—and the hypnotic (trance/dream-like) rhythm and sleepiness have to make cinephiles think of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

There are a few films that may be equal to Barry Lyndon’s visual beauty (from Days of Heaven, In the Mood For Love, others-- including  works from the great Kubrick himself) – but none that I’d say are comfortably superior Many aspects of Kubrick’s masterpiece are worthy of praise, but I want to get to the main point quickly- the film is driven by a rigorous, formal, visual approach using technology (the zoom lens) on masterful compositions. The Shining is largely driven by tracking shots (through the advent and development of the Steadicam) and here it is the zoom,

I Know This Much IS True features masterclass acting from Mark Ruffalo is on display in Derek Cianfrance’s six hour tragedy I Know This Much Is True has relationship and anger issues that remind you have his stunning breakthrough film Blue Valentine (2010) and a generational family interconnectivity (of transferring baggage and doom) from The Place Beyond the Pines. The somber, sad, tone pervades all three films (Cianfrance’s lesser, but still handsomely mounted, The Light Between Oceans is also an incredible bummer of a tragedy). This is who Cianfrance is—whether it is in a shorter film or the 378-minute

This is yet another reminder to seek out the film made directly following a masterpiece from any major auteur. I talk about Marie Antoinette from Sofia Coppola often, Woody’s Interiors following Annie Hall is one of these films--- and Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen follows Brazil and perhaps because of that, I’ve been tragically underrating it for years Even detractors have to be blown away by the visual spectacularity—this is the final leg of the imagination trilogy from Gilliam—a boy (Time Bandits), man (Brazil) and elderly (here) this is the final leg of the imagination trilogy

Mira Nair’s first feature after working in documentary films and that experience is certainly put into play here (location shooting, non-professional actors largely in the cast). This is realism, from the Italians in the 1940’s to the Apu Trilogy in the 1950’s and the Dardenne brothers in the 1990’s and beyond. I do think this has a bit of an element of Bunuel’s Los Olvidados (1950) to it—we have a harshness here, robbery, peeing in public, drinking, pimps, hash and a junkie friend Nair spent a lot of time in prep following and studying kids living on the streets