House of Wax: realism versus art and artifice in horror cult film
Andre de Toth, “House of Wax” (1953) “House of Wax” was the movie that established Vincent Price as a horror film icon and in itself is…
nausika
Repo Man: science fiction comedy satire on the beginnings of Western capitalist / consumerist culture’s downfall
Alex Cox, “Repo Man” (1984) Dare I say that with the passage of time, this little cult science fiction comedy thriller film will come to be…
The Sweet Hereafter: a fragmented film labouring under too many issues about loss and betrayal of children
Atom Egoyan, “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997) It won quite a few Best Film and Director awards and was nominated for Best Director and Screenplay Oscars but…
French and French-language Films
Hidden: a film about guilt, trust, colonial exploitation and manipulation of signs is overburdened by art and cleverness
Michael Haneke, “Caché / Hidden” (2005) An imaginative if overly layered thriller about a couple threatened by an unseen and unknown stalker, Michael Haneke’s “Hidden” is…
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: a psychedelic slapstick comedy satire on American society and its values
Terry Gilliam, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998) From that period of Johnny Depp’s acting career when the films he was making were actually quite…
Solaris: a philosophical science fiction film investigates the nature of reality and humans’ relationship with the cosmos
Andrei Tarkovsky, “Solaris” (1972) The great Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky was nothing if not consistent: he made beautiful, artistic, slow-burning films that are an immersive experience…
Breaking Inequality: a well-intentioned documentary based on a simplistic view of corruption in American politics and economy
“Breaking Inequality” (2013) An urgent and impassioned documentary made to appeal to all Americans, “Breaking Inequality” focuses on the corrupt links that tie the United States…
A highly informative documentary about GE plants in “A Silent Forest: the Growing Threat, Genetically Engineered Trees”
Ed Schehl, “A Silent Forest: the Growing Threat, Genetically Engineered Trees” (2011) Narrated by Canadian geneticist David Suzuki, this documentary warns of the dangers genetically engineered…
Quills: a shallow treatment of individual rebellion against a repressive society
Philip Kaufman, “Quills” (2000) Intended as an inquiry into the extremes of sexual licentiousness and prudishness, with regard to the tolerance of societies and the freedoms…
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Everybody has a Plan: slow-burn character study burdened by hokey plot twists and themes of identity, choice and responsibility
Ana Piterbarg, “Todos tenemos un Plan / Everybody has a Plan” (2012) Ah, don’t we love films about identical twin brothers turning on themes of identity,…