The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Huston's 1948 gold-greed Western. Bogart deteriorating, Walter Huston dancing, Tim Holt holding the moral center.
Tag: Artistic Obsession (Page 4)
1950sSunset Boulevard (1950)
Wilder's 1950 Hollywood gothic. Sunset Boulevard is the Billy Wilder film noir that became Hollywood's most lacerating film about itself.
2000sThere Will Be Blood (2007)
Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 epic of oil, religion, and a man who hates everyone. Daniel Day-Lewis as American capitalist as Old Testament demon.
2000sZodiac (2007)
David Fincher's 2007 procedural on the SF Zodiac killer investigation. Three protagonists, no killer caught.
2010sNightcrawler (2014)
Dan Gilroy's 2014 LA satire. Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, freelance crime videographer.
2010sZero Dark Thirty (2012) Review
Zero Dark Thirty is one of the best American thrillers of the past fifteen years and one of the most controversial mainstream films of the post-2001 perio. She became the first woman to win that award.
2000sRatatouille (2007) Review
Ratatouille is one of the best Pixar films and one of the best animated films of the twenty-first century. The premise sounds like an idea that would test poorly with focus groups and get killed in development.
AdaptationThe Raven (1935 / 1963 / 2012), Contrast Review
Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem The Raven has generated multiple screen adaptations across nearly a century of cinema. The three versions covered here represe.
1970s
1950sThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Review
David Lean's POW masterpiece. Alec Guinness's career-defining performance as Colonel Nicholson.
1990sShowgirls (1995) Review
Read as a Verhoeven satire of the American Dream, the film makes sense. The 7 accounts honestly for execution problems that remain even when the satirical reading lands.
2010sEx Machina (2014) Review
Garland built Ex Machina to be precise, controlled, and unsettling in a register that keeps the audience at analytical distance instead of pulling them into emotional investment. The performances are strong.