For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 80) The Last Emperor (1987), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci Nothing says communism like a dull color palette: one hundred and fifty shades of gray, dead blues, dried puke greens, dried snot yellows, orange that’s been out in the sun too long,… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 80-76
The landing page, with rationale and links to other posts in this series, can be found here. I don’t really have a lot to say about Chicken Little. It’s noteworthy, in my mind, for being one of the worst movies I have ever come across, in terms of quality the inoffensive animated corollary to Crash. It… Read More Disney/Pixar Rankings: 77-71
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 85) 49th Parallel (1941), directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger One way to avoid the trouble of making an action-adventure movie that’s just loosely tied setpieces is to lean fully into the naturally episodic tendencies of the… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 85-81
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 90) The Long Good Friday (1980), directed by John Mackenzie Bob Hoskins has too many teeth in his mouth. Where he found them all I don’t know, but they are perfect for Harold Shand, who attacks his problems… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 90-86
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 95) Pygmalion (1938), directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard In sports, people obsess over “bad contracts,” which belong to players who don’t produce very much but who are paid well above the market value of that production.… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 95-91
For a brief introduction and a running list of movies covered in this project, click here. 100) Ex Machina (2015), directed by Alex Garland I have such hopes for Garland, who appears to be groping his way towards an autopsy of alienation. Sunshine, which he wrote, is most interesting when it is concerned about human failure and… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 100-96
Francois Truffaut said once that British cinema was a contradiction in terms, which is a fabulous take and exactly the kind of thing that keeps Anglo-French relations spicy since Joan of Arc was lit up. History has proved him wrong, but there’s a reason that when people think of national cinemas Britain tends to lag… Read More Better than BFI’s Top 100: 2019 Edition
This one has been a long time coming. Had I been born in the ’80s, I imagine I would have been more taken with E.T. or The Goonies or other movies of that ilk. As it is, I’m from the ’90s, and there’s a good argument to be made that there was never a better… Read More Disney/Pixar Movie Rankings: 2019
Dir. Bille August. Starring Samuel Froler, Pernilla August, Ghita Norby I wonder what it says that the movie I would give to someone who had never come across a Bergman movie before would be to give them an August movie. The Best Intentions gives us for the old master what Shelby Foote referred to as… Read More The Best Intentions (1992)
Dir. Alex Garland. Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander Dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin There are two things which really stand out about Free Solo. The first is that El Capitan is really tall, and the second is that Alex Honnold is not a likable person. I don’t want to pile on the guy, because… Read More Ex Machina (2015) and Free Solo (2018)
Seeing Things Secondhand 