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  • Jack Conway – Arsène Lupin (1932)

    Jack Conway1931-1940MysteryRomanceUSA
    Arsène Lupin (1932)
    Arsène Lupin (1932)

    Synopsis by Mark Deming
    John Barrymore plays a burglar and his brother Lionel Barrymore is the detective trying to catch him in this cleverly cast drama. An upscale thief who works under the name of Arsene Lupin is making the rounds of the homes of the wealthy and privileged, and Detective Guerchard (Lionel Barrymore) is determined to track him down. What he doesn’t know is that the suave and sophisticated Duke of Charmerace (John Barrymore) is actually the man behind the robberies. Will Guerchard find out the thief’s true identity before he can execute a daring theft from the Louvre Museum? Karen Morely co-stars as Sonia, the Duke’s love interest.Read More »

  • Franklin J. Schaffner – The Boys from Brazil (1978)

    1971-1980Franklin J. SchaffnerSci-FiThrillerUnited Kingdom
    The Boys from Brazil (1978)
    The Boys from Brazil (1978)

    Barry Kohler, a young Nazi hunter, tracks down a group of former SS officers meeting in Paraguay in the late 1970s. The Nazis, led by Dr Mengele, are planning something. Old Nazi hunter, Ezra Lieberman, is at first uninterested in Kohler’s findings. But when he is told something of their plan, he is eageRead More »

  • Armand Rovira & Saida Benzal – Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)

    Armand Rovira2011-2020DramaExperimentalSaida BenzalSpain
    Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)
    Letters to Paul Morrissey (2018)

    Four celluloid letters sent from different parts of the globe to Paul Morrissey, director of Trash, Flesh and Heat, collaborator with Warhol and agent for the Velvet Underground.Read More »

  • Adrian Murray – Retrograde (2022)

    2021-2030Adrian MurrayCanadaDrama
    Retrograde (2022)
    Retrograde (2022)

    A minor traffic citation spirals into an all-consuming obsession for a neurotic young woman.Read More »

  • Robert Downey Sr. – Too Much Sun (1990)

    1981-1990CampComedyQueer Cinema(s)Robert Downey Sr.USA
    Too Much Sun (1990)
    Too Much Sun (1990)

    Quote:
    On his deathbed, billionaire O.M. Rivers (Howard Duff) is tricked into altering his will by a grasping Catholic priest (Jim Haynie). The dying man is persuaded to add a stipulation to his bequests: one of Rivers’ two offspring must produce an heir within a year of his death or his millions will go to the church. The catch is that Rivers’ son Sonny (Eric Idle) is gay and his daughter Bitsy (Andrea Martin) is a lesbian.Read More »

  • Terence Davies – The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

    Terence Davies2011-2020DramaRomanceUSA
    The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
    The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

    Quote:
    With The Deep Blue Sea, Terence Davies selectively transforms a lesser-known Terence Rattigan play into a broody rumination on emotional freedom and frustrated desire. Davies abandons Rattigan’s linear narrative and compressed timeline in favor of a more free-form structure, one that underlines the ebb and flow of memory as it shuttles between past and present. At the same time, The Deep Blue Sea confirms Davies’s continued engagement with the period melodrama—in this case, the variety of “woman’s picture” exemplified by the doomed romanticism of David Lean’s Brief Encounter, a touchstone that The Deep Blue Sea on several occasions blatantly references. Set against the backdrop of post-WWII Britain, a dowdy period of rationing and reconstruction, The Deep Blue Sea hinges on the seemingly irresolvable predicament of its heroine, Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz). Trapped within the confines of a passionless marriage to older, well-to-do Sir William (Simon Russell Beale), Hester vainly seeks satisfaction in an ardent affair with young, impulsive Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston). Absorbed in memories of his carefree pre-war days, Freddie ultimately cannot return Hester’s affection, and their relationship soon degenerates into noisy rows and mutual recriminations.Read More »

  • George P. Cosmatos – Leviathan (1989)

    George P. Cosmatos1981-1990HorrorSci-FiUSA
    Leviathan (1989)
    Leviathan (1989)

    One of those movies that reminds you of “Alien” and “The Thing” (not the original). The story is simple yet convincing and the special effects were good for its time. There is a little humor though not much. Most of the time it ranges from serious to dead serious. A group of underwater explorers uncover an old Russian submarine called appropriately enough “Leviathan” which translates from an ancient term meaning “sea monster” in the bible. They search the sub and find nothing of interest except a flask of vodka. However, one crew members becomes ill from drinking it and others join him. It appears that something has overtaken the unlucky Leviathan crew and they are next. It was all in all a clever film if not anti-climactic. Worth seeing surely.Read More »

  • Barbet Schroeder – The Charles Bukowski Tapes (1987)

    Barbet Schroeder1981-1990CultDocumentaryFrance
    The Charles Bukowski Tapes (1987)
    The Charles Bukowski Tapes (1987)

    Quote:
    Fifty-two clips of Charles Bukowski ranting and musing comprise Barbet Shroeder’s Charles Bukowski Tapes. It was, until now, a rarity that circulated amongst die-hard Bukowski fans, since the release of Shroeder’s Bukowski-scripted feature, Barfly. This collection of monologues, ranging in topic from Bukowski’s beef with God, to biographical tales of his life as an abused child, to his views on writing as a disciplinary craft, cover the gamut of Bukowski-typical topics, which can also be glimpsed in other Bukowski documentaries, such as Born Into This. But The Charles Bukowski Tapes are set apart by their sheer volume of candid author footage, in which Bukowski has drunkenly abandoned all camera-shyness to reveal, and revel in, his damage. Read More »

  • Robert Z. Leonard – In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Robert Z. Leonard1941-1950ComedyRomanceUSA
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Plot:
    In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.Read More »

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