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The Monk Director:Dominik Moll Writers: Matthew Lewis, Dominik Moll, Anne-Louise Trividic Stars: Vincent Cassel, Déborah François, Joséphine Japy Dominik Moll has not been prolific, The Monk (2011) being only his fourth feature film. But on the strength of the three films widely seen, there is little doubt that...
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The Cabin in the Woods Director:Drew Goddard Writers: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard Stars: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison Although The Cabin in the Woods is nominally a teen horror film in the mold of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981), it not only uses another kind of narrative – perhaps consciously...
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Skyfall: The Last Englishman Director: Sam Mendes Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller Duration: 2 hrs 23 min Sam Mendes’ Skyfall, it seems to me, is not only the best James Bond film hitherto but is also conceived as that last one –...
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The Master Writer-director: Paul Thomas Anderson Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Price Carson, Mike Howard Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Paul Thomas Anderson is not an easy American filmmaker to characterize but his work is perhaps best understood as an American response to European art cinema of the post-war years. Classical...
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The Dark Knight Rises Director:Christopher Nolan Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, Christopher Nolan Stars: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy I must admit that among America’s superheroes, I have a special fondness for the Batman. This is not only because he does not sport America’s colors as Superman and...
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Ermano Olmi is a filmmaker who remained true to the tenets of neo-realism (as defined by their ideologue Zavattini) long after the more celebrated adherents to the creed – Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti had abandoned it. Rossellini went on to make films like The Rise of...
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The late Krzysztof Kieslowski was one of the most overrated of European filmmakers and few films demonstrate the drawbacks in his approach more than The Double Life of Veronique (1991), regarded by many to be his best film. East European cinema during the communist era was – with some exceptions –...
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Talk to Her Writer-Director: Pedro Almodóvar Stars: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling The story of Talk to Her does not need retelling – especially since it has been so widely seen but it is divided into three major segments pertaining to the three key relationships in the...
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The Long Goodbye Director: Robert Altman Writers: Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler Stars: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) – based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler – belongs to a genre called the ‘hard-boiled detective story’, which may be regarded...
The Monk Director:Dominik Moll Writers: Matthew Lewis, Dominik Moll, Anne-Louise Trividic Stars: Vincent Cassel, Déborah François, Joséphine Japy Dominik Moll has not been prolific, The Monk (2011) being only his fourth feature film. But on the strength of the three films widely seen, there is little doubt that...
The Cabin in the Woods Director:Drew Goddard Writers: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard Stars: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison Although The Cabin in the Woods is nominally a teen horror film in the mold of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981), it not only uses another kind of narrative – perhaps consciously...
Skyfall: The Last Englishman Director: Sam Mendes Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller Duration: 2 hrs 23 min Sam Mendes’ Skyfall, it seems to me, is not only the best James Bond film hitherto but is also conceived as that last one –...
The Master Writer-director: Paul Thomas Anderson Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Price Carson, Mike Howard Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Paul Thomas Anderson is not an easy American filmmaker to characterize but his work is perhaps best understood as an American response to European art cinema of the post-war years. Classical...
The Dark Knight Rises Director:Christopher Nolan Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, Christopher Nolan Stars: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy I must admit that among America’s superheroes, I have a special fondness for the Batman. This is not only because he does not sport America’s colors as Superman and...
Ermano Olmi is a filmmaker who remained true to the tenets of neo-realism (as defined by their ideologue Zavattini) long after the more celebrated adherents to the creed – Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti had abandoned it. Rossellini went on to make films like The Rise of...
The late Krzysztof Kieslowski was one of the most overrated of European filmmakers and few films demonstrate the drawbacks in his approach more than The Double Life of Veronique (1991), regarded by many to be his best film. East European cinema during the communist era was – with some exceptions –...
Talk to Her Writer-Director: Pedro Almodóvar Stars: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling The story of Talk to Her does not need retelling – especially since it has been so widely seen but it is divided into three major segments pertaining to the three key relationships in the...
The Long Goodbye Director: Robert Altman Writers: Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler Stars: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) – based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler – belongs to a genre called the ‘hard-boiled detective story’, which may be regarded...