Almost four years after my first viewing of Andrei Tarkovsky's masterful sci-fi rumination Stalker, I finally watched it a second time. When I saw it for the first time, I spent hours upon hours delving into YouTube essays and written commentaries regarding the meaning of Stalker; I thought that would have sufficiently prepared me for a second exposure to Stalker, but as it turns out, once again I had to frequently jump to the Wikipedia summary in order to actually…
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Pig 2021
The Cage-athon: Delving Into Nicolas Cage's Filmography
First of all: despite watching this many months after its initial release, and even despite reading reviews for it, I managed to go into this film blindly regarding its themes, messages and plot points, and ultimately think it makes for a much more rewarding experience. If you still have not seen this film (and believe me, you should), I can only urge you not to subject yourself to any spoilers. I won't talk…
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The Northman 2022
"You must choose between kindness for your kin, and hatred for your enemies."
In his third feature film, Robert Eggers upholds his tradition of exploring historical settings in all their ritualistic details and mythological folklore glory. As compelling a voice as anyone might have hoped for when it comes to those of us who longed for a viking-era historical epic: uniting the mystery and symbolism of his indie/art-house roots from The Witch and The Lighthouse with the ambitions of a…
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022
My opinion on this film currently rotates on a scale from "what a stupid mess" to "Sam Raimi is the savior of the MCU", and my stance changes every thirty seconds.
Not a fan of the over-the-top visual spectacles Marvel likes to throw at the screen, and Multiverse of Madness is nothing but visual spectacle from first second to last. It also still looks as visually unappealing as every other Marvel-produced film that came before. But, it's also the first…
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Dune 2021
"An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off its own leg to escape. What will you do?"
So, Dune. Easily the most highly anticipated movie of the year for many, which is inevitably going to lead to some reactions of disappointment. In my book, Denis Villeneuve transcends all my high hopes with his visually striking adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel.
To get it out of the way first, the major criticism of Dune so far seems to be…
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A History of Violence 2005
David Cronenberg has built an entire career from directing offbeat films constructed around disturbing images and shocking premises: Scanners, The Fly, Naked Lunch or Videodrome are just some of the films coming to mind. In A History of Violence, however, Cronenberg abandons his signature style of psychologically unsettling science-fiction premises in favor of an impactful deconstruction of the American dream.
So, how does A History of Violence fit in with the rest of Cronenberg's filmography? It is more grounded in…
