Reviews

This movie has 90s independent style written all over it. It's unmistakable. It's a black and white, grainy and naturalistic portrait of some characters out of their luck in the world of Hollywood movies, based exclusively on dialogues and performances. It's clearly inspired by "Clerks", Jarmusch's films, "Smoke" and ultimately by Cassavetes and Robert Altman. But even when it plays some familiar tunes, the result is quite good, with most of the actors and stories being engaging enough and the feeling that Whitaker (an actor that only directed this movie) put some personal truths in it.

Robert Wise is one of the all-time greatest directors that is not very often recognised as such. Showing in every film a refined storytelling technique (you can clearly see that before being a director he was one of the greatest editors in the movie business, with impressive credits like "Citizen Kane"), but also a chameleonic adaptation to every genre (he has masterpieces in horror, Sci-Fi, drama, musicals...). This gritty boxing drama / film noir is not only one of the early movies in which the action happens in real time, but its influence is undeniebale in the two later classics, "Raging Bull" and "Rocky", with impeccably filmed boxing matches. Wonderful.

Carax movies are not for everyone, but are clearly what cinema as an art needs to keep growing. You have the blockbusters, the standard genre constructed and script dependant movies and then you have the ones that try to do something different with the filmic language. The narrative power of Carax here is breathtaking and his union with Sparks to create a modern musical that is half "Phantom of the Paradise" and half "Dancer in the Dark" is a glorious one, full of emotion and risks. Also, Adam Driver, after his "Star Wars" journey, seems determined to leave behind a brave and rich filmography.

One of the cinema classics that I haven't seen before and that, for the most part, still packs quite a punch. I have to say that the existentialism of the first part of the movie, that portrays the lives of different characters exploited by an American oil company in a fictitious Central American town is the one that spoke loudest to me (it's easy to see why it was heavily censored in the US upon its release), but the tension of the main plot line in the second half is also very impressive and it's easy to see its influence on the cinema that came after it. Extra points are given for the guest appearances of Mario and Luigi.

Whilst not a technically groundbreaking documentary, the importance and power of the mostly new images of what regular people shot with their cameras on 9/11 is the closest you'll get to having been in New York on that day and shows the side that this kind of events tend to not show: the one of the regular people trapped in them. The only thing that it can't really transmit is the fear of not knowing what was going to happen next (that the ones that we saw it live, even in the TV news, will never forget), because everybody now knows how events unfolded. A must see.

Sometimes there are classics that one missed, even when almost everyone at the time watched them. This is one of them for me. How I didn't see this movie in the cinemas in the early 90s when I was going to the movies every week is a mystery to me, even moreso that I never saw it on VHS or TV, when it's a very famous film with some big names on both sides of the camera. Fortunately, I could rectify this mistake watching it last week in its new 4K HDR restored version projected on a big screen, and oh, boy! What a movie this one is! The 90s were the decade most obsessed with coolness since the 30s and few films lived up to be really cool then and even less now, but this early script by Tarantino and Avary (the wonderful couple) with the stylist direction of the superb Tony Scott, the brilliant soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and an unbelievable cast that throws big names without stop, not only in the leads but in every little role (including a young and powerful James Gandolfini), is one of the coolest movies of the decade and a truly deserving classic.

Bakshi's eleven-year stint from the 70s to the 80s when he delivered eight amazing films full of personality has to be considered one of the highlights in the history of animation. "American Pop" is probably his most narrative ambitious one and one of his most focused movies, following the saga of four generations of a family through the history of American rock and pop music with an impeccable selection of classic songs.

This is a very special movie. Not only did it mark the beginning of the genre of blaxploitation (with a much more aggressive tone), but it's an impressive show of directorial and editing skills by Peebles for a very independent production. The movie loses a little of the early punch in the second half, but the beginning is unforgettable.

One of the last true masterpieces of American silent films (that unfortunately includes tree sound sequences not shot or approved by his director, that break a little the spell). A movie that reminds me of "Sunrise" in its inventiveness (without the direct fantasy element) and that should be regarded as a cinema classic, but is still quite unknown today. A mix of a humanistic story with a documentary feeling and a bravado camera work; it's a truly unique piece of cinema.

I have no doubt that this is one of the most important horror movies of these first two decades of the XXI century. It's one of those films that manages to capture something ethereal and unexplainable, like the pulse of an era (like "Halloween" did in its time), with not only a great idea and a brilliant execution, but a powerful metaphoric lecture (that touches on growing up, the human need for love, sex and affection and the basic dread of life itself) full of evocative images and feelings, that extend far beyond the movie and stay with you long after watching it.

The extraordinary talent as a director shown by Lowery in "A Ghost Story" or "The Green Knight" was already present in full force in this magical remake of a secondary Disney classic (but one of my childhood favourites), that is one of the few with "The Jungle Book" to make some artistic sense. Elliott is here half "E. T." and half Falkor from "The Neverending Story", which makes sense, because the original was probably a background inspiration for "E. T." too. A modern gem of a fantasy Kids' Film.

The duo of Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (husband and wife) are a fascinating and very misunderstood creative force, responsible for the scripts of "American Graffiti", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and of course the infamous (and also great) "Howard the Duck". Here in their debut, they already present one of the most strange and best zombie/vampire independent movies ever filmed. Clearly influenced by "Night of the Living Dead" and "Carnival of Souls", with a perfect hallucinogen mood and with a good number of unforgettable sequences, it deserves its cult status and it makes for a perfect double bill with "Dead & Buried".

Lowery's low budget and intimate debut is far from his later achievements (as is also the case with his next film "Ain't Them Bodies Saints"), but it already shows a great visual talent and a lot of personality.

The first of Universal's "monster rallies", this very successful sequel to both "The Wolf Man" and "The Ghost of Frankenstein" had a troubled production that ended up deleting all the dialogues of the monster of Frankenstein, making unknown to the public that the monster is almost blind in this film and that the iconic Lugosi's performance (with the sleepwalking creature movements now being part of popular culture) was not just pure laughing matter. A great treat.

The second horror film by Martín after the success of "Horror Express" the previous year is a very different beast. While the latter was more elegantly filmed, this one is kind of a mess, but the peculiarities of this Spanish Gothic Shocker, a little in the style of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", are worth noting; with an interesting social commentary of the moral repression of the dictatorship years. Also, sleazy and erotic, if you watch the uncut version.

The last film of the Holmes series is not one of the best, but at least has a good sense of farewell and all the actors are committed (also, Watson, the duck and the little girl is one the highlights of the series). It's a pity that the end credits with Holmes and Watson walking away from us are lost.

When after watching thousands of movies you can still watch one with a permanent smile in your face, you know that you are in front of something special. But of course, with one of the best ever directors in the pilot seat and a force of nature like Charles Laughton in front it's just what one could expected. In fact, the movie is really a masterpiece in every field (writing, directing, editing, acting...), moving like a perfectly oiled machine, full of heart and irony and with a trio of performers in perfect harmony. It was one of the last small-scale films by Lean and another example of why he is one of the top directors of all time.

One of the classic teenager scripts by John Hughes, in this case directed by Howard Deutch (who also directed the following year the last of Hughes' scripts on the subject), which is also his last collaboration with his muse Molly Ringwald. It plays similarly to "Sixteen Candles" and has a controversial ending.

One of the best Canuxploitations out there, from the very interesting Paul Donovan. After a beginning that looks more like a street gang movie, it quickly transforms into a claustrophobic siege film, clearly inspired by "Assault on Precinct 13". Made with very little money, but with a lot of talent; it's a hidden jewel that deserves to be better known.

This is what good exploitation is all about! A clear Italian rip-off of "The Omen" by specialist De Martino and with superstar Kirk Douglas, but exquisitely filmed, with its own personality and with a good enough mix of craziness and solid narration to be totally memorable.

Not as inspired as his "Guardians of the Galaxy" duo, Gunn's incursion into the DC Universe is still totally personal, crazy and free, with many enjoyable moments and a beautiful homage to Japanese Kaiju Eiga (and an extra nod to "Warning from Space").

A rather strange Hughes, that tries to unite the two sides of his writing, being half "National Lampoon" (with very controversial moments for today's standards) and half his more critically acclaimed teenager radiographs, without a lot of success. It still has some charming and iconic moments.

Indonesian cult horror that takes inspiration from American works of the late 70s like "Phantasm" or "Salem's Lot". It has a surprising Islamic religious side and quite spooky moments, especially for its time.

Anderson is something of a hit or miss for me and this one is kind of a miss. It did help launch his career and gave Bill Murray a second life as an actor in independent movies (the best of the film) and it's funny at times and has already the Anderson visual style in kind of an embryonic form, but the story has some hiccups and one too many visual mannerisms (a classic from this director).

Cunningham's next film after the big success of "Friday the 13th" is this very different thriller with some horror strokes (not of the same kind as the Jason movies), shot in fascinating real locations underneath New York and with good acting, excellent direction and a very gritty vibe that I can appreciate.