Donnie Darko is one of my all-time favorite films. I saw it for the first time in 2001 on VHS (the only copy available in Easley, South Carolina) after I had followed the film on the internet months before the street date. Since then, I’ve seen the film over fifty times. I keep coming back […]
On the Theatrical Cut Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is a film of extraordinary power. This is quite possibly the director’s best film since Dogville, and like that film, this is an experience that requires patience and an open mind. With that being said, Nymphomaniac is not the sex-fest that the clever marketing campaign would have […]
If Tommy Wiseau were to attempt to make a horror film, the results might look a lot like Lucas Pavetto’s The Perfect Husband. A beautiful married couple, Nicola (Bret Roberts) and Viola (Gabriella Wright), decide to vacation at a family cabin while trying to heal from the emotional trauma of a recent stillborn pregnancy. Viola isn’t too keen […]
Francois Ozon’s latest film, Young and Beautiful (or Jeune & Jolie), tells the tale of a teenager named Isabelle – a headstrong young lady with a strong curiosity for all things sexual. One night, she loses her virginity to her German boyfriend. From there on, she decides that she cannot get enough. She becomes a […]
Henry Jaglom’s films are true originals. They are deeply personal, almost like home movies. His style is reminiscent of Robert Altman and perhaps Woody Allen, and much like John Cassavetes, his films are largely improvised. His films have a unique look and feel. Even his most recent films seem as though they come from a […]
Upon its release at the Cannes Film Festival, Richard Kelly’s sophomore feature Southland Tales met with some pretty harsh reviews. It was one of the worst receptions to accompany any film in recent memory. A year and a half later, Samuel Goldwyn Pictures released a tighter cut, and still, the film was ripped to shreds […]
This review may contain spoilers. Last Tango in Paris was released in 1972, and is considered a landmark film, as it was intended to usher in a cinematic movement of adult-themed films, the goal of which was not to titillate the audience with sexual imagery, but to deal with sexuality in a mature and reverent […]
I first fell in love with the character of Maggie Chase when I saw Henry Jaglom’s Hollywood Dreams for the first time, years ago. She returned in the sequel to that film, Queen of the Lot, a few years later, and we continued to watch this unique and charming character evolve. Now, with Jaglom’s latest […]
Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers is one of the best films of 2003. To call it a masterpiece would not be an exaggeration. Sadly, it seems that many critical circles have forgotten the film, with many labeling it as a “lesser” entry in Bertolucci’s filmography. As for me, it ranks alongside Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris […]
The long lost 1973 Animerama film, Belladonna of Sadness, has been released on Blu-ray, courtesy of CineliciousPics, SpectreVision and The Cinefamily. When the lovely Jeanne is raped several times on her wedding night, she sells her soul to Satan, and becomes the most powerful and beautiful woman in the village. As her husband becomes an […]
ReelRenkovish 