It’s been a while since I watched Argento’s Suspiria, though I remember enjoying it, so when I learned he did two more films set in the same world I knew I had to seek them out. The first follow-up film is 1980’s Inferno. Rose (Irene Miracle) is living in New York (with Italian locations serving…
Tag: lighting
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – Robert Longo
William Gibson wrote the screenplay for Johnny Mnemonic based on one of his short stories, but you get the impression it changed a lot from what he had written to what ended up on the screen. A lot of the tech seems to be glossed over, and with an hour-and-a-half runtime, this film feels like…
Road House (1989) – Rowdy Herrington
Patrick Swayze plays Dalton, a lethal but zen bouncer in the cult-favorite, Road House, which also features the famed blind Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey as the bar band of the Double Deuce. Dalton is hired by Tilghman (Kevin Tighe) to help change his bar, the Double Deuce, into something a little more profitable. It has…
TIFF ’23: Reptile
I love a good film noir, and Reptile, having its World Premiere at TIFF, definitely falls into that category. Being released by Netflix (which means if you can’t see it on the silver screen you;ll be able to see it on your big screen at home in October) the film is a tightly wound spring…
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson transposes his quirky family dramas and characters, and that wonderful eye for details into an undersea adventure that pays homage to, and pokes fun at, the ocean adventure films that rose to popularity with the works of Jacques Cousteau. Bill Murray stars as the titular Steve Zissou, a Cousteau wannabe who, aboard his…
Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger
Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…
Fringe (2010) – Brown Betty, and Northwest Passage
Peter (Joshua Jackson) is in the wind somewhere, and Walter (John Noble) is attempting to deal with things in his own way, he smokes up on some Brown Betty and gets insanely high. All of this wouldn’t be too bad if Olivia (Anna Torv) didn’t show up with her niece, Ella (Lily Pilblad) in the…
Nightmare Alley (2021) – Guillermo del Toro
Based on the novel of the same name del Toro’s latest is a lush, shining example of the noir genre, and features strong performances and visuals. I loved how faithful it was to the spirit of the novel, there were a few necessary changes, but none that change any of the overall arcs for any…
Dagon (2001) – Stuart Gordon
So I figured I would take a look at another Lovecraft adaptation, and despite the title of the film, the story is more in line with The Shadow Over Innsmouth, with a slight lean towards Dagon. And while I appreciate what Gordon set out to do, he’s hampered by horrible lighting and photography, and terrible…
Dick Tracy (1990) – Warren Beatty
It’s been a long time since I sat down to watch this film, it may be since it first came out, or at least when it first hit video. I remember wanting to really get into this one when it first came out, I wanted it to be the next big summer blockbuster. So did…
The Mind Reels 