All the problems I had with Pusher are well and truly over by the time Nicholas Winding Refn takes to the second film of the trilogy. He always said he would never do another Pusher, but after the commercial failure of Fear X, his company was forced into bankruptcy and to clear the debt he […]
Category Archives: Film Reviews
April
28
Pusher 2: With Blood on my Hands – Nicolas Winging Refn and one of the best sequels ever made. (film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
April
27
Pusher – A young director leaves the womb. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Nicholas Winding Refn is an excellent director. However, he made Pusher when he was twenty-four and, considering he comes from strong film family stock, I would have to say his lack of maturity shows. There are some writing problems and it seems almost every scene has been pulled from The Battle of Algiers, which Winding […]
April
26
Tabu – Miguel Gomes and the endless beauty of cinema. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
Just when you lose faith in a fresh face ever being planted on a post-colonial tale, along comes Tabu with a face so fresh I was even able to forgive the not-so-blatant mocking of my beloved European 60’s cinema. Tabu doesn’t brandish its cleverness, something exceedingly rare in cinema, therefore it throbs with those stunning […]
April
25
No – Pablo Larraín and the question of selling out. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
No is a clever film intended to broaden the discourse on the nature of politics, political advertising and the power of film. Rather than preach, No turns the camera on the audience, involving the viewer in an experience of the very issues called into question. It is not a documentary on The 1988 Pinochet plebiscite. It is a […]
April
23
The Piano Teacher – Jelinek and Haneke and Austria. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
In 2001 when Michael Haneke decided to adapt Elfriede Jelinek’s amazing novel The Piano Teacher, Elfriede Jelinek had not yet won the Nobel Prize for her work, and Haneke had not yet made The White Ribbon. The Piano Teacher is a direct (and one of many regular) criticism of Austrian society by Elfriede Jelinek. She […]
April
19
Trance – Danny Boyle and the philosophy of memory and identity. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
It should be no surprise that given the importance of it on the psyche and formation of identity that philosophers and scientists have been discussing memory for as long as philosophy (and biology) have existed. These days, memory is broken down into three components in an attempt to better understand it. These are: habit memory, personal memory and factual […]
April
16
Water Drops on Burning Rocks – Ozon uses Fassbinder to get steamy. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
And steamy it is. This is one of Ozon’s sexiest films with its ambiguous sexuality and its themes of submission and domination. Water Drops on Burning Rocks is a Fassbinder play, written when he was as nineteen years old as Franz (a pseudonym Fassbinder used many times throughout his career) is in the Ozon film. […]
April
15
Oblivion – Joseph Kosinski celebrates 70’s sci-fi. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
When the New York times reviewed Logan’s Run in 1976, it had this to say: Just why and for what particular purpose Logan makes his run is anything but clear after you’ve sat through nearly two hours of this stuff. Logan’s Run is less interested in logic than in gadgets and spectacle, but these are […]
April
09
First Position – Bess Kargman and the complicated world of child dancers. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
Documentaries and film have a complex relationship – but then anything that wants to be associated with a representation of “the truth” has an equally tough time. Film, as we have explored many times on this blog is a manipulation medium and therefore statements have to be rich and complex if they are to avoid […]
April
02
So Many Great Expectations – Mike Newell and the ninth version. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
Great expectations has been adapted for screen nine times, and this count does not include the many television miniseries versions there have been, nor countless theater adaptations. Overall, it seems Dickens has been adapted for the screen almost 300 times, with A Christmas Carol being the most replicated of his stories. Dickens has had all of his work […]
Lisa Thatcher 