Author: Blake Van Poucke

ASC 2022 Nominees – Nightmare Alley and Tragedy of Macbeth land nominations

January 25, 2022

In the past, the group has awarded the spectacle or artistically driven films, meaning gasping wide-shots and a strong visual component to the overall storytelling, win the award. For instance, Erik Messerschmidt winning for Mank in possibly the weakest year for cinematography ever, was due to Fincher emphasizing the eye-catching compositions. He would go on to win the Oscar… … More ASC 2022 Nominees – Nightmare Alley and Tragedy of Macbeth land nominations

The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955) is Buñuel brilliantly playing off genre

January 25, 2022

The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz subverts all expectations of the noir genre. It runs counter to every natural impulse within the genre and all the familiar conventions. It’s funny because only a director with a deep understanding of noir conventions could make something this explicitly sideways. It’s a dark, symbolic narrative that follows a character in Archibaldo (Ernesto Alonzo) who yearns to be a hardwired serial killer he’s envision since he was a boy but unfortunately for him, is confined to his mundane life as an upper class bachelor with sociopathic tendencies. It’s a case of hilarious timed writing with many plot devices that take the quintessential noir intensity and alter it for comedic effect. Buñuel brilliantly plays off the basic moodiness of the genre while keeping his placid style. There’s a sense of truth in all his work and once again here as Archibaldo desperately wants to die a criminal with no morals, but is remembered as an upstanding citizen who helped others. … More The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955) is Buñuel brilliantly playing off genre

The mythological storytelling of Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus (1950)

January 25, 2022

The mythological storytelling of Jean Coteau’s Orpheus is a wonder. He captures the ethereal in the cinematography, editing, writing, and performance. He presents an all-encompassing look at all the hidden facets of the world, revealing an existence under the surface. … More The mythological storytelling of Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus (1950)

Maborosi is Hirokazu Kore-eda at his most observant

January 18, 2022

Grief is always a powerful emotion and many directors have approached the subject in a variety of ways. For Hirokazu Koreeda, Maborosi introduces the audience to the unexplainable element of grief and the oversevrant stylings of his filmmaking. Built as merely a passenger, rarely an active participant in the devastation of Yumiko’s (Makiko Esumi) simple life. It’s Koreeda’s first narrative feature in his career and his knack for directness shows up in his first scripted film. … More Maborosi is Hirokazu Kore-eda at his most observant

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Hamaguchi’s Subversive Anthology Film

January 18, 2022

Ryusuke Hamaguchi stealth released two films in one year. His “other” film being the Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a methodical exploration of character that’s so honest with itself, paced so deliberately to invoke connection and a sense of realism. The anthology structure lets Hamaguchi grapple heavily with the themes through a variety of situations … More Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Hamaguchi’s Subversive Anthology Film

CERTIFIED WEIRD: The Housemaid (1960) a probing look at Korean social structure

January 12, 2022

Unhinged storytelling that is so incredibly intoxicating. The Housemaid is watching a Shakespearean level tragedy in slow motion, as the persona’s gradually unravel, revealing a complicated existence with the introduction of one deviant character, Lee Eun-sim (Myung-sook), that turns a family upside down. It’s bleak but not from the outset, making the turn from the … More CERTIFIED WEIRD: The Housemaid (1960) a probing look at Korean social structure

CERTIFIED WEIRD: Steve Buscemi at his best In The Soup (1992)

January 7, 2022

In The Soup is the epitome of independent filmmaking. It’s the most Jim Jarmusch film ever made while not being made by Jim Jarmusch (although he does play a small part in the film). It’s a film that’s brainstorming in the text of the script and gives way to its creative impulses by the tragic finale. It’s Steve Buscemi’s (Adolpho) greatest performance ever, as he gets a leading role in an off-beat character-focused hangout film. … More CERTIFIED WEIRD: Steve Buscemi at his best In The Soup (1992)

CERTIFIED WEIRD: The Cremator (1965) a viscous and bitterly funny romp of the Czech New Wave

January 6, 2022

The Cremator is a pure gem of the Czechoslovakian New Wave film movement. It’s a bizarrely twisted look at a cremator, who has a deep fascination with reincarnation, Tibetan monks and aryanization, that finds himself at odds with his family due to his wife and children being Jewish. … More CERTIFIED WEIRD: The Cremator (1965) a viscous and bitterly funny romp of the Czech New Wave