Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)

28Jun11

Carmen Maura (Pepa), Antonio Banderas (Carlos), Rossy de Palma (Marisa). Screenplay by Pedro Almodóvar. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Rating: 12. Running time: 90 minutes. If you’ve seen any Almodóvar films at all, then you’ll be aware by now that any and all of them sound stupid when their plots are penned to paper, the reason […]

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Tags: antonio banderas, carmen maura, franco, gazpacho, madrid, pedro almodovar, slapstick, women on the verge of a nervous breakdown

Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983)

26Jun11

Al Pacino (Tony Montana), Michelle Pfeiffer (Elvira Hancock), Steven Bauer (Manny Ribera). Screenplay by Oliver Stone. Rating: 18. Running time: 170 minutes. You may notice early on in Scarface that the film pans out like a Grand Theft Auto game: we begin with the obligatory scene setters, introducing us to our main character who so obviously […]

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Tags: brian de palma, cult, grand theft auto, miami, michelle pfeiffer, plato, scarface, thrasymachus, tony montana

The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

23Jun11

Gene Hackman (Harry Caul), John Cazale (Stan), Harrison Ford (Martin Stett). Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Rating: 12. Running time: 112 minutes. As I watched The Conversation, I was reminded of Blow-Up. Not because the style is similarly distinctive, and at times so self-consciously art-house, though those two traits undoubtedly hold true […]

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Tags: antonioni, blow-up, enemy of the states, francis ford coppola, gene hackman, palme d'or, the conversation, the recruit

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

10Jun11

Daniel Day Lewis (Daniel Plainview). Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Rating: 12A. Running time: 158 minutes. If there’s one thing There Will Be Blood puts beyond any doubt, it’s that Daniel Day Lewis is today’s Marlon Brando. He may sit comfortably amongst a handful of actors any of which could fairly claim […]

Filed under: america, drama   |  3 Comments
Tags: american dream, bill cutting, cave, christianity, daniel day lewis, javier bardem, marlon brando, nihilism, odeon, oil, oscar, paul thomas anderson, plato, pursuit of happiness, sean penn, texas, there will be blood, third revelation, thrasymachus

Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)

04Jun11

Daniel Day-Lewis (Bill Cutting), Leonardo DiCaprio (Amsterdam), Cameron Diaz (Jenny Everdeane), Jim Broadbent (William Tweed), Liam Neeson (Priest Vallon), Brendan Gleeson (Walter McGinn). Screenplay by Jay Cocks, Kenneth Lonergan and Stephen Zaillian. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Rating: 18. Running time: 167 minutes. So if you ever get the privilege of visiting Manhattan and you manage […]

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Tags: cameron diaz, daniel day lewis, five points, gangs of new york, jim broadbent, leonardo dicaprio, liam neeson, lincoln, martin scorsese, new york