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The Limey (1999)
Tell them I'm coming
Filmmaker(s): Steven Soderbergh

The Limey follows Wilson, a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine and an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.

Proustian Out and Back deserves respect, as much for his failures (‘Brokovich,’’Traffic') as his successes (this, ‘Sight,’’Videotape'). When he experiments, it is with simultaneous layers of different kinds involving the eye, the mind, time, remembrance. Here he works on small, intimate layers, small visions of the...


Published December 9, 2024
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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Madman? Monster? Murderer? Scientist?
Filmmaker(s): Fritz Lang

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

Viewer Possession comment is on the fully restored Criterion edition.) I see that my comments on the Mabuse films have been deleted. There was an IMDb era when any offended reader could exact revenge by successfully complaining of scores of comments. But I guess that's apt...


Published December 9, 2024
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Double Suicide: Japanese Summer (1967)
Filmmaker(s): Nagisa Ōshima

A sex-obsessed woman, a suicidal man she meets on the street, and a gun-crazy wannabe gangster become trapped in an underground hideaway.

Solid Shadows with Conflicting Death Wishes know a few of this man's films. They are among the richest experiences I know, but I was surprised at how deeply this one worked on me. The surprise comes in part from knowing how specific his target audience was....


Published December 10, 2024
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A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven.
Filmmaker(s): Stanley Kubrick

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?

The Eye and the Genital films are misunderstood. Reading the professional reviews and comments here, one would think the reason for this film to exist is for Kubrick to make a strong satire. What bunk. What a small view. This movie is about the tyranny of...


Published December 11, 2024
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The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
I told you... you know nothing about wickedness
Filmmaker(s): Orson Welles

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

Chinese Puzzle first mystery is to guess what Welles' original film was like. That makes this a real adventure -- to see an incomplete skeleton and using cinematic forensics, imagine the beautiful woman it once supported. If you do, you will both see and experience perhaps...


Published December 11, 2024
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Stand by Me (1986)
For some, it's the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life.
Filmmaker(s): Rob Reiner

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie, Vern, Chris and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

What Happened to Lardass? first duty of a filmmaker is to worry about how to transport the viewer into the special world they have in mind. The hard way to do this is by devising a very strong narrative. Expert filmmakers then worry about the...


Published January 27, 2025
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The Secret of House No. 5 (1912)
Filmmaker(s): Kai Hansen

Choose your own Revolution the basic info first. This is the first 15 minutes of a silent film without inter-titles that we are told is both a vampire story and a mystery. The people appear and act as any actors would representing the upper class...


Published March 2, 2025
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Border (2018)
Sense something beautiful

When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind.

Slow evolution of the story you read anything about this, it will likely be about the story, the acting, the originality. These are apt and true; I’ve never seen more effective acting. The story is wholly original following no genre known to me. Though I...


Published March 9, 2025
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Agatha Christie’s Criminal Games (2009-2024)

Origami still in the paper on two-thirds of a long series.) I’ve watched all of the first season, and most of the second. So you don’t have to, these are TV episodes for a French audience that are well produced with the charms peculiar to a...


Published June 17, 2025
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The League of Gentlemen (1960)
What is the league ... Who are the gentlemen ?
Filmmaker(s): Basil Dearden

Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline and planning are imposed by Hyde and second-in-command Race on the team, although civilian irritations do start getting in the way.

The Template don't know when this genre first appeared — the ‘team heist' — but this surely is the film that defined it as a genre. A team of distinct characters. A genius planner. An incredibly elaborate plan. Lots of group dynamics, including humorous episodes. Some...


Published June 17, 2025
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