A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Michael Haneke, “Funny Games (English language version)” (2007) Austrian director Michael Haneke originally had wanted to make “Funny Games” as an American film due to his…
British Films, North American Films
Christopher Nolan, “Interstellar” (2014) “Interstellar” managed to hold my attention for most of its 169-minute duration which was quite a feat as the plot is quite…
Henry Koster, “Harvey” (1950) This film about a middle-aged bachelor whose only friend and companion happens to be an invisible giant bunny rabbit could have ended…
Korean Films, North American Films
Joon-ho Bong, “Snowpiercer / Seolgugyeolcha” (2013) Joon-ho Bong’s first outing in the English language is an enjoyably silly ride into the post-apocalyptic dystopian SF genre. Concerns…
John Frankenheimer, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) At some point during the Korean War in 1952, a platoon of American soldiers is betrayed by their Korean interpreter who…
North American Films, Northern European Films
Lars von Trier, “Manderlay” (2005) The sequel to “Dogville” is an interesting philosophical if rather slower and less action-packed inquiry on the nature of freedom and democracy…
Jonathan Mostow, “Surrogates” (2009) “Surrogates” has an interesting sci-fi concept with potential for philosophical speculation about the nature of being and reality in the style of…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Topaz” (1969) Coming towards the tail-end of a long and illustrious career in film direction, this Cold War spy thriller is one of two…
Lars von Trier, “Dogville” (2003) First in a series of films on American culture from Lars von Trier’s own rather idiosyncratic viewpoint, “Dogville” is a minimalist…
Francis Ford Coppola, “Apocalypse Now (Redux)” (2001) The actual plot is very basic: sometime during the Vietnam War – a newspaper clipping on Charles Manson’s trial…