Tagged: Review
Documentary Review: Chris Paine’s Who Killed the Electric Car (2006)?
After attending a mandatory course (to get my definitive Swiss drivers license) on how to drive ecologically and save a lot of fuel I was kind of confused. One of the instructors mentioned that the electric car isn’t actually as eco-friendly as you’d think. That was the first time I had heard someone say that. It seemed counter intuitive to what I thought to be true, so naturally being a film buff the logical reaction was to seek out a documentary that would discuss the issue in a more sensible and in-depth manner, so I decided to watch Chris Paine’s Who Killed the Electric Car? Continue reading
Three Reasons: Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). An Honest Depiction of Alcohol Addiction.
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In 1946 Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945) won the Austrian-American auteur five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay (the film is based on Charles R. Jackson’s homonymous book). While I love to make fun of the Oscars or get really pissed at their poor decisions, this is one of those instances where I feel they got it right. Then again, you can’t go wrong with Billy Wilder. I recently watched this film for the first time and absolutely adored it. In typical Criterion fashion I decided to share Three Reasons why I think this is a must-see. Continue reading
Review: Louie (TV Series). Louis C.K.’s Show on Comedy, Life and New York.
So I’ve watched the first three seasons of FX’s show Louie written, directed, produced, edited and starring Louis C.K. and since the quality, structure and themes of the show seem to be recurring and consistent I feel I can review the show as a whole. I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore, but after seeing a preview of this show on Jimmy Fallon and hearing great things about it on a podcast I listen to, I thought I’d give it a shot. The show looked a lot different than what you’d normally see on television and it really is. Continue reading
Three Reasons: Mark Waters’ Vampire Academy (2014). The Prime Example of Young Adult Fiction That Works.
Lately, I found myself reflecting on how I am slowly but surely transitioning into an older age group in terms of Hollywood demographics. When I see all these adverts for young adult films (and most big blockbusters in general) all I feel is just complete disinterest. I was worried that I am getting too old to “get” these movies, but watching Mark Waters’ Vampire Academy I realized that it’s simply not true. A good movie is a good movie, regardless of who it’s targeting. Continue reading
Five Reasons: Catherine Breillat’s Barbe Bleue (2009) & Bonus: My Theory on Why Bluebeard’s Blue Beard is Blue
In 2009 Catherine Breillat decided to film Charles Perrault’s famous French folktale Barbe bleue (that’s Bluebeard en anglais). The classic fable was published by Perrault in Paris in 1697, but was set in 15th Century France. The story is about a wealthy French aristocrat who had a blue beard and a passion for young women, namely slitting their lovely throats. His modus operandi included marrying his innocent victims, live with them for a year or less and then kill them. I never really got this story, because I mean come on, why would you kill a beautiful young woman? Continue reading
Three Reasons To Watch Nic Pizzolatto and Cary Joji Fukunaga’s True Detective (2014), Season 1
I don’t watch a lot of television, but when I do it’s mostly HBO shows. For those living outside of the US: HBO is an American cable television network which produces some of the best series on TV. It’s almost like the Criterion Collection of TV shows in terms of quality. If you’re anything like me however regardless of all the hype surrounding a show you might need a little bit of convincing to start watching it. I decided to check out True Detective, because I heard that Cary Joji Fukunaga directed every episode of Season 1. Continue reading
Three Reasons: Catherine Breillat’s Brief Crossing (2001)
In case you hadn’t noticed Catherine Breillat is one of my favorite French auteurs. Brief Crossing (original title: Brève traversée) is one of her highest rated films on IMDb, but not many people have seen it or talk about it. However I’m sure that a lot of people would enjoy this film, because as we will see it has some interesting ideas about sex and sexual encounters, it’s very sexy and do I really need Three Reasons? Yes? Okay, more sex! There’s not a lot of nudity in this film apart from one rather lengthy sex scene, but one could say that the whole film is about sex, although there’s more than that. Continue reading
Interview-Review: Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) #KifKif
1) What is Ali: Fear Eats the Soul about?
It’s a love story between a lonely middle-aged woman, Emmi (Brigitte Mira) and a young Moroccan migrant worker Ali (El Hedi ben Salem). They meet by chance in a bar. Ali’s friends dare him to dance with this “old lady” and he does, but then it turns out that they have a lot in common, namely that they’re both lonely and melancholy. So they try to make it work, even though they know the odds are against them. Turns out that racism was still rampant in Germany and especially after the Munich massacre people weren’t that accepting of interracial relationships. Aside from that there’s also the whole ageism thing going on. It’s a great movie. Continue reading
Music Video Review: Now (There Is No Tomorrow) by Trouble Maker – My Favorite Video Clip of 2013
Ever since MTV stopped playing music (making you question the M in MTV), my annual video clip watch has dropped significantly. I mostly check out the artists I like or the latest commercial hits on YouTube out of curiosity. Every year however there’s still one music video that really stands out and resonates with me. In 2013 I started getting into KPOP, as a function of my fascination with South Korean cinema and youth culture. As a marketing student I’ve always been fascinated by bands that are conceived like commercial products, though I think they’re never without artistic merits (in their own ways). Continue reading
Mini-Review: Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013) – True Story, Bro!
Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free man living in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife and children. He works as a carpenter and loves to play the violin in his free time. One day two men offer him an opportunity to make easy money working with them for a circus. Solomon isn’t sure about it, but the money is good and his wife seems have a taste for the finer things in life, so he accepts. Turns out that those men where kidnappers who sold him off as a slave. Such bad men. Many lash. Very exploit. Not wow. Continue reading
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