By Marc S. Sanders Only the headlining actors’ names appear before the title of the film, Lucy, but ten minutes into it I should have known I was watching a Luc Besson actioner. It’s over the top and proudly exaggerated in its fiction like Leon: The Professional or The Fifth Element. Because this one has Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman talking […]
Continue reading “LUCY”
One of Kaurismaki’s funniest and most fascinating deviations in his oeuvre, this East Goes West road movie sutures music, cross-cultural misunderstanding, and deadpan humour into a pseudo-documentary, crowned by arguably the best hairstyle ever committed to celluloid.
Continue reading “Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)”
Whether it’s the Irish, Scots, Canadians, or Australians, former British Empire dominions have long been wary of how the British used their allies during warfare. From the killing of Canadian soldiers at Ypres to the brutal fights of Australians at Gallipoli, many believed the Dominion armies would be the first to attack, resulting in fewer […]
Continue reading “”
‘Exploring’ features the filmographies of filmmakers that I’ve largely completed and celebrates them on the week of their birthdays.
Continue reading “Nuri Bilge Ceylan”
Catalan filmmaker Carla Simon made her name with the tiny, plotless, yet moving family dramas Summer 1993 and Alcarras. Now, with Romeria, she expands her ambitions into a magical realist mystery but, sadly, the leap has not been made gracefully. A few strikingly beautiful moments aside, Romeria is a frustratingly dull and repetitive film, taking […]
Continue reading “Romeria”
Rohmer’s provocative final entry from his ‘Six Moral Tales’ calls attention to the temptation of extramarital affairs, as a man in a happy marriage contemplates putting his immoral theoretical thoughts into practice.
Continue reading “Love in the Afternoon (1972)”
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy offers an interesting take on the Egyptology horror genre. It’s perhaps best described as being about two very different families, one American, one Egyptian. We spend most of the film with the American family, the Cannons, who are living in Cairo, and whose life is thrown into chaos when their daughter […]
Continue reading “The Mummy (2026)”
COUNTDOWN ticks thru 101 bland minutes of science-fiction-minus monsters, a moon expedition story from 1967 (Brit release date) that opened in the US in ’68. While critics were intrigued and crowds got excited by Planet Of The Apes and were awestruck and/or baffled by 2001: A Space Odyssey, they weren’t enraptured by this realistic, down-to-Earth procedural […]
Continue reading “Countdown (1967)”
In “Splitsville,” Carey, facing divorce, seeks comfort in his friends Julie and Paul, leading to chaos through an ‘open relationship’ experiment. The film blends humor with profound insights on love and heartbreak, showcasing characters in absurd yet relatable situations. Directed by Michael Angelo Covino, it highlights the irrationality of human instincts.
Continue reading “”
“Funny how secrets travel…” The title page on a draft of the Lost Highway screenplay reads: “A 21st Century Horror Noir. A Graphic Investigation Into Parallel Identity Crises. A World Where Time Is Dangerously Out Of Control. A Terrifying Ride Down The Lost Highway.” When I saw Lost Highway for the first time in my […]
Continue reading “Lost Highway: David Lynch Tribute”
“Silencio.” Los Angeles, Hollywood California, the City of Angels, whatever you want to call it is an interesting place. The great filmmaker David Lynch (RIP) had this to say about Hollywood: “I love Hollywood. I love the dream of it.” He also said that: “When you’re there in LA, on some nights… you can feel […]
Continue reading “Mulholland Drive”
Year: 2026 Runtime: 105 minutes Directors: Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson Writers: Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson, Ursula Wills (based on a short story by) Actors: Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan By Rosa Parra Directed by Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, “Wicker”(2026) features Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, […]
Continue reading “Sundance 2026 Review: Wicker”
“A dream is never just a dream.” In an enlightening article published a week before Christmas 2025, New York Magazine writer Lane Brown states that, “Stanley Kubrick’s movies have a habit of aging into new meanings, like monoliths that take time for us apes to figure out.” The enigmatic, maximalist director (2001, Dr. Strangelove, Clockwork […]
Continue reading “Eyes Wide Shut: 25 Years Later, Kubrick Shows Us the Christmas We Deserve”
Directed by: Simon Stone Written by: Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse, Simon Stone Starring: Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, Art Malik, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kaya Scodelario Rating: [3/5] Whether from an abundance of resources or just a regular refusal to accept the defeat, the ultra wealthy continue to find ways to get whatever they want, no matter the circumstance placed before […]
Continue reading “The Woman in Cabin 10”
Billy Hayes, portrayed by Brad Davis, is an American university student apprehended while attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. Sentenced to four years initially, his punishment is extended to a daunting 30 years. Determined not to surrender to his fate, Billy collaborates with fellow inmates to devise an escape plan. Interestingly, the prison setting […]
Continue reading “Midnight Express (1978) Prison Location”
Well, for sure this is no masterpiece. This will not rank alongside Stanley Kramer’s film in the annals of cinema. For sure, Kramer’s film was wise enough to skip the Nazi top brass and instead treat other trials that might make for more surprising outcomes. It was more modest and yet more ambitious. This film […]
Continue reading “Nuremberg”
It might as well be subtitled: “Blood and Bananas.” “Primate” is probably the movie I wanted out of the new “Anaconda” movie. It’s a creature feature that takes advantage of the carnage and the people who must evade it either make some stupid choices or know how to dodge it. It may not be labeled […]
Continue reading “Primate”
The thought of owning a monkey as a pet always seemeddangerous to me. Primate creates that situation and throws in moments of mayhem and horror. Directed by Johannes Roberts, this is one of those thrillers where a jungle is already part of a family’s life. However, when resources are not aligned, there is a combination of bad tests and non-thorough examinations. The monkey then jumps out of its cage with […]
Continue reading “”
“I have scales. This is so f***ed!” True friendship endures many challenges. But what if one of those challenges happens to be a mermaid transformation? Written, produced and directed by Victoria Negri (Gold Star), the short film Mermaid, Bitch is a quirky and heartfelt fantasy-comedy about a young woman who wakes up to discover she’s […]
Continue reading “Mermaid, Bitch”
Nuremberg brings a little-known WWII story to life in this crowd-pleasing genre piece. Oscar winners Rami Malek and Russell Crowe deliver big time performances that play to their strengths. Although the film is traditional in every respect, it speaks to our present with surprising resonance. Recommended.
Continue reading “Nuremberg”
