A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
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…
Joel Coen, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (2000) An amusing road film based on Homer’s The Odyssey, “O Brother …?” takes viewers on a quick and…
Harmony Korine, “Spring Breakers” (2012) Contrary to most reports I’ve seen or heard about this film, “Spring Breakers” is actually a very well-made piece with a…
Akira Kurosawa, “The Hidden Fortress” (1958) Inspiration for George Lucas’ “Star Wars: A New Hope”, the 1978 space-fantasy flick that spawned an industry, this unusual historical…
Bob Rafelson, “Five Easy Pieces” (1970) One of the saddest films I have seen, “Five Easy Pieces” was conceived as a character study vehicle by the…
David Cronenberg, “Cosmopolis” (2012) A profound and thoughtful film on the nature of the corporate fascist mind-set, “Cosmopolis” is a quasi-cyberpunk road movie across New York…
Robert Breer,”Fuji” (1974) An interesting short of a train trip taken through the Japanese countryside with Mount Fuji dominating the rice-fields and towns along the way,…
Larry Charles, “The Dictator” (2012) I confess I saw this latest Sacha Baron Cohen film to see how offensive and tasteless it is. Truly dictatorial “The Dictator” is,…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Young and Innocent” (1938) A plucky teenage girl aids a young man on the run from bumbling police who suspect him of murder by…
Alexander Sokurov, “Russian Ark” (2002) At last a film was made with just one take and a well-executed and visually gorgeous film it is too. “Russian Ark” is…