A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Christian Davies, “David Bowie Under Review 1976 – 1979: The Berlin Trilogy” (2006) David Bowie’s death in early January 2016 left behind a considerable artistic legacy…
Kenneth Anger, “Invocation of My Demon Brother” (1969) If like me, you’ve already seen a considerable number of films by Kenneth Anger, this one won’t add…
Martin Scorsese, “George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Part 2)” (2011) I had expected the second part of this documentary on George Harrison to be…
Kenneth Anger, “Scorpio Rising” (1964) One of the most amazing concoctions of film collages and music soundtracks, “Scorpio Rising” is perhaps Kenneth Anger’s most famous and…
Martin Scorsese, “George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Part 1)” (2011) A really very thoughtful and fascinating documentary (in its first half at least) on…
Ethan and Joel Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013) Inspired by and based loosely on the life of Dave van Ronk, “Inside Llewyn Davis” follows a week…
Sion Sono, “Suicide Club / Jisatsu Sakuru” (2002) Famous for its controversial premise, full-on gory presentation and an arresting opening sequence of 54 school-girls jumping off…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, French and French-language Films
Olivier Assayas, “Clean” (2004) Rare are the movies in which two main characters happen to be father and his daughter-in-law yet just this month I’ve already…
Ivar Berglin and Peter Beste, “True Norwegian Black Metal” (Vice, 2007) Despite the title, this short documentary is a brief travel guide into the world of…
Jeff Krulik and John Heyn, “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” (1986) In the wake of news that British heavy metal band Judas Priest will cease touring and will be in…