This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
When their mother passes away, three very different brothers return to their family home to pay their respects, but their opposing lifestyles and outlooks on life cause them to clash.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
After the death of her husband, Rosario Parondi (Paxinou) takes her four youngest sons Simone (Salvatori), Rocco (Delon), Ciro (Cartier) and Luca (Vidolazzi) to stay with their oldest brother Vincenzo (Focás) in Milan. However, Vincenzo is trying to build his own life there, having just celebrated his engagement to Ginetta (Cardinale). The family are forced to stay in very humble lodgings, all sharing one room and not enough beds, whilst the boys struggle to find work in the city. Eventually the multitude of vices commonplace to city life begin to drive the brothers apart, especially by the beautiful yet troubled Nadia (Girardot).
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
In a prison in Brazil, two cellmates – cross-dressing homosexual Luis Molina (William Hurt) and aggressive political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) – form an unlikely friendship as Luis recounts one of his favourite films to pass the time.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
John Wick (Reeves) has suffered a loss. His wife (Moynaham) recently passed away, but after her funeral Wick is delivered a final gift from her, in the form of the most adorable beagle puppy ever. It’s like it was created in an adorable puppy factory. Anyway, this gift was intended as something for Wick to focus on instead of his grief, something to drive him past this unbearable experience and continue on with his life, so when he runs foul of low-life Russian gang member Iosef (Allen) with an eye for Wick’s vintage Mustang, and Iosef beats up Wick, steals his car and kills the dog, needless to say some vengeance is very much on the cards.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
Over the course of twelve chapters we experience the life of Nana (Karina), an aspiring actress and shop assistant who turns to prostitution when her acting career fails to take off.
There comes a point where you have to just sit back and declare that some things aren’t for you. You’ve tried them, often numerous times, but always with a similar, less than stellar result. No matter how hard you try, it’s just not something you can get on board with. And so it is with me and the cinema of the French New Wave. It’s not the worst I’ve seen – I’d possibly hand that crown to Godard’s À Bout de Souffle – but Vivre sa Vie comes close. It strikes me as a film in which the director is actively challenging the audience to pay attention, providing as he does multiple occasions where surely only the most fervent of viewers can remain engaged. Throughout this film we witness an entire letter being hand written, word by word, with the camera focussed intently on the letter. A poem is recited, in full. A conversation is had with French philosopher Brice Parain. And through all the ambling, overly self reflective, ponderous yet vapid naval gazing I struggle to maintain a grip on my conscious state as Godard hints at, but never fully embraces a narrative.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
After robots from space have taken over the Earth, the surviving humans are forced to remain inside their homes indefinitely, being monitored by flashing implants behind their ear. If they go outside, they are killed. However, four kids accidentally find a way to turn off their implants, and see it as an opportunity to firstly find one of their number’s missing father, and possibly end the robo-tyranny forever.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
Max (Yelchin) is not happy with his life. He works a demeaning job, his half-brother Travis (Cooper) uses Max’s apartment as a bachelor pad, and Max’s girlfriend Evelyn (Greene) is an eco-obsessed control freak, keen to dominate every aspect of Max’s life. He’d have broken up with her by now if they weren’t constantly having sex. One day, however, Max finally works up the courage to dump Evelyn, only for her to die just before he is able to. Problem solved, right? Nope, because Evelyn comes back from the dead, with plans on turning Max into a zombie too, so they can live together, forever. Max is, understandably, less than keen on the idea, especially seeing as he’s just met the perfect girl for him, hipster ice cream parlour owner Olivia (Daddario).
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This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series at French Toast Sunday. I also reviewed the film recently for Blueprint: Review.
Five youths – two couples and the wheelchair-bound brother of one of the couples’ female halves – are travelling through Texas, first checking that their ancestors’ resting places haven’t been disturbed in a recent bout of grave digging, before spending some time at an abandoned house owned by the parents of the brother and sister. However, a creepy hitch-hiker and a very-much-not-abandoned house nearby put something of a damper onto their vacationing plans. Continue reading
This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
Almost twenty years after the US intervened in the Serbian/Bosnian conflict, two opposing veterans run into one another in the mountains of Georgia. One of them, American Colonel Benjamin Ford (De Niro) has become a recluse, living out his days away from his son (Ventimiglia) and his family, but bears a constant reminder of the war by way of the shrapnel still lodged in his leg. The other, Serbian soldier Emil Kovac (Travolta), initially seems friendly, but soon shows his true intentions.
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
In New York’s Jewish Quarter, Murray, a failing bookshop owner (Allen), needs money. When his dermatologist (Stone) mentions she and her friend (Vergara) have always wanted a ménage a trois, Murray sees an opportunity; he recruits his florist and general odd-job-man friend Fioravante (Turturro) to become a gigolo, and soon the money comes pouring in.
Life Vs Film 