By Jackson Diianni Although usually regarded as one of the worst Best Picture winners, Crash (2004) is not without support. Probably its most famous defender is Roger Ebert, who gave it a perfect 4/4 review. He calls it a movie of “intense fascination”, explaining that, “not many films have the possibility of making their audiences … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Hunger (2008) is a superb showcase of acting and filmmaking technique, yet I didn’t feel satisfied when it was over. To be fair, it’s not a traditional film. Hunger is a 24-minute dialogue scene bookended by 72 minutes of wordless storytelling. That one dialogue scene is spectacular, maybe the best I’ve ever … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful (2010) is one of the most affecting films of the 21st Century, which makes me wonder how it could possibly have slipped so silently under the radar. To me, this film is a masterpiece, but I seem to be the only one who thinks so. It got mediocre … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni There aren’t a lot of movies that can accurately capture what it feels like to be a kid. A Christmas Story does it pretty well. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory does it too, but The Sandlot really excels at it. It’s a story told entirely in flashback, from the perspective of … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni After I watched Superbad, a friend of mine told me that the script was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg when they were just 13 years old. To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised to hear that this movie was written by middle-schoolers. The plot revolves around two teenagers who are … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni The Secret World of Arrietty tells the story of a world populated by miniature people. They’re called “borrowers” because they borrow everything they need from human beings,or “beans” as they’re called in the film. When a borrower named Arrietty encounters a human boy named Shawn, she and her family must leave or … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni Ingrid Goes West is an original effort, but it suffers from lack of focus. It’s trying to be a social-commentary piece about the dangers of technology, addiction and identity. It’s also trying to be a drama, a love story, a black comedy, a thriller and a road-movie. Sometimes, when you try to … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni Barton Fink (1991) is an enigmatic film if ever there was one. It was born out of the Coen brothers’ purgatory stage, during which they were rapidly becoming experienced filmmakers, but had not yet perfected their unique brand. It bombed at the box-office but won Best Director, Best Actor and the Palme D’or … Continue reading
by Jackson Diianni They Live By Night opens with the iconic shot of a convertible car speeding down an empty highway at top speed, while a man in the backseat tears off his prison fatigues and throws them away into the wind. From this, one might expect a hot-blooded chase film, but the story turns quickly … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. We open on a flashback to a child who’s around nine. Not yet a teenager, this poor kid is already being thrust into some sort of adult situation. Most likely, pirates are to blame. Flash forward to present day where we meet an ensemble … Continue reading
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