A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” (2023) Aside from all the Hollywood fanfare fluff surrounding its release, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is actually an intriguing character study and legal drama…
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, “Kong: Skull Island” (2017) An example of how post-2000 Hollywood is squeezing as much juice as it can from all its past films (plus…
Francis Ford Coppola, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) A visually lavish and often surreal presentation, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the famous vampire novel still holds up…
Desiree Akhavan, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (2018) Set in 1993, this coming-of-age drama follows a teenaged girl’s sudden entry into a cruel world of psychological…
British Films, North American Films
Sam Mendes, “SPECTRE” (2015) As James Bond films go, “Spectre” looks gritty and stylishly in a minimal way all at once, but that’s as much as…
Chris McKay, “Renfield” (2023) A cheerfully cheesy vehicle for Nicolas Cage to finally fulfil his life’s ambition to play Count Dracula, “Renfield” shifts the focus away…
William Crain, “Blacula” (1972) In 1780, a noble African Prince (William Marshall), known as Mamuwalde, visits Transylvania with his wife Luva to solicit the help of…
Oliver Hermanus, “Living” (2022) A gentle if sad and understated film, Oliver Hermanus’s “Living” is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 “Ikiru (“To Live”), this time…
French and French-language Films, North American Films
Jim Jarmusch, “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” (1999) Even after twenty years, this film still holds up well as an unusual and odd pastiche…
German and German-language Films, North American Films
Todd Field, “Tár” (2022) It has all the ingredients to be a great film – an excellent cast, a stunning performance from its main star Cate…