Recent Posts
A manhunt in a period film: Hideo Gosha’s Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
The recent discovery of Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (Kumokiri Nizaemon, 1978), a film that I had never seen before, has…
Four Frames: The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
Shakespeare told us love is blind, although there are those who insist he stole it from Chaucer. It is Preston…
Brilliant Failure: Tom Tykwer’s Exuberant, Overwhelming Perfume (2006)
Inspired by and adapted from the novel of the same name, Perfume (2006) by Tom Tykwer is an offbeat thriller with oversaturated…
Best Films of 2020: Part II
Beronica Garcia Da 5 Bloods (Dir. Spike Lee) Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods comes at a pivotal time for the…
Best Films of 2020: Part I
Neil Fox Rizi (Days) (Dir. by Tsai Ming-liang) I saw Rizi in the heady days of the Berlinale in February (insert nostalgic…
Bonnie Lee and the Leather Jacket Flying Men in Only Angels Have Wings
They are men who are staring down death as they are flying dangerous missions over treacherous mountain terrain, come rain,…
Screengem: The spittoon in Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
Old pals John Wayne (as Sheriff John T. Chance) and Ward Bond (as Pat Wheeler, soon to be murdered, shot…
Deceit is in the Details: Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity
“The living room was still stuffy from last night’s cigars. The windows were closed and the sunshine coming in through…
A family with a dinner table: Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Still Walking
Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Still Walking (Aruitemi aruitemo, 2008) starts with two women preparing a meal, the older woman giving advice to…
