8 1/2 Federico Fellini’s film 8 ½. It was not what I expected. It was marvelous. It was the story of a man who is looking at his life and trying to figure out if he has what he wants or even more importantly, what it is that he wants. Ostensibly, it is the…
Category: Movie Reviews
Film on Film as Life on Life
Film on Film as Life on Life Watching a great film can give a person insights into the existence they lead. That may be the key to why human beings are willing to spend as much time as we do sitting in darkened theatres or immobilized on couches during sunny days watching things that may…
Five Seasons of Fellini – Amarcord
Five Seasons of Fellini If you are no longer a teenager, think back to the time when you were. If you were to pick one significant year from that time and make it into a movie, who are the people, what are the images, and what are the things that you would want people…
Welcome to the Liberators
Welcome to the Liberators “Welcome to the Liberators!” It is painted on a brick wall as Antonia and her daughter walk into a Dutch village that Antonia grew up in in the movie Anotonia’s Line, directed by Marleen Gorris. While the message is clearly meant for Allied troops who are clearing out the Nazi…
Richard III – Evil Evil England – An Honest Review
Richard III: Evil Evil England A Review of Richard III (1998) starring Ian Mckellen and Annette Bening When one looks at the United Kingdom, one naturally expects to find certain things. Among these are crumpets, tea, drivers sitting on the right hand side of automobiles, double-deck buses, and a deep and abiding love for the…
The Player – A Robert Altman Film
About The Player – Robert Altman’s Insider Look Inside of Hollywood What does it mean to be an insider in Hollywood? What happens behind the scenes during the process of an idea becoming a script, a script becoming a pitch, a pitch being selected to be made into a film, and finally in the transition…
Looking for Richard – A Film Review
Looking for Richard and Looking for Relevance by Vago Damitio It would seem that one of the major tasks facing filmmakers and story tellers of all stripes today is to find relevance between the story being told and the lives we lead. This search for relevance is not simply a way to achieve funding and…
Sex, Drugs, and a Holiday in Cambodia
Sex, Drugs, and a Holiday in Cambodia In 1987 Spalding Grey, released his indy film/monologue, Swimming to Cambodia. In the monologue, Gray discusses a trip he took to Thailand, his experiences on the trip, and the events that led him there. Of primary significance to the monologue is the historical understanding of the events which…
A Memento of Henri Bergson – Christopher Nolan’s Memento
A Memento of Henri Bergson You may think that you are free, but you are not. You may think that each action you take is an unrestrained choice, but it is not. You ( and everyone else) are incarcerated in a prison that controls every action you take and every decision you make. Even the…
Rush – The Art of Fast Cars and Beautiful Drama – A Review
I’m not much of a sports guy. When someone says “Who’s your team?” I usually have to think about it and I generally pick Seattle because that’s where I was born. I don’t really like watching sports, I’m not into NASCAR, I don’t really go for motorcycles or the Olympics – but there is one…