Don't Look Now - Nicolas Roeg - 1973

Daphne Du Maurier once said that Don't Look Now was her favorite adaptation of any of her works, which is saying a lot considering that Hitchcock adapted 3 of her novels into films (Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, and The Birds).

The story follows two grieving parents (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) as they travel to venice to grieve the loss of their daughter. They encounter two sisters there, one of which claims to be psychic who warns them of ensuing danger. The suspense of the film builds and builds until the shocking ending that feels both natural and unexpected.

The film is assertively edited, meaning that every cut has a purpose in either providing information or establishing relationships between characters. The cuts are often in your face and are very memorable. To put it simple, this is the best edited film I've ever seen.

There are many reoccurring images, shapes, and colors which are mostly easy to spot, however there are some that are barely noticeable. These tiny unnoticed touches come from a director who is a master of his craft and has a great grasp on the story he is telling.

Don't Look Now is bazaar, horrifying, touching, and suspenseful to a point where it's hard to watch, yet impossible to look away.

Kiss Me Deadly - Robert Aldrich - 1955

Kiss me deadly is my favorite Film Noir, which is a lot to say since I am a huge fan of the genre. The film is an adaptation of a Mickey Spillane novel by the same name. The story follows detective Mike Hammer as he gets sucked into a dark world, all surounding around a mysterious object known as the "great whatsit". The film however goes into deeper social issues including strong themes of nihilism and communist paranoia.

There are two things that made me really fall in love with this film. The first is the protagonist Mike Hammer (played by Ralph Meeker). Hammer is a no nonsense almost cynical in his hunt for information. He is only interested in things that he can either punch, drink, or screw. The second thing that I love about the film is the ending. I won't give it away but it's one of the most unexpected endings that I've seen.

The Orphanage - Juan Antonio Bayona - 2007 - Spain

Today is my Mother's birthday! So I thought today's post should be one that features a badass movie mom.

In The Orphanage Belen Rueda plays Laura, a woman who moves back to the orphanage that she grew up in with hopes of reopening it. With her are her husband Carlos and her adopted son Simon. However, Laura finds out that the orphanage has some other inhabitants, ones that she must try to understand, especially when Simon goes missing.

What makes Laura such a badass mom is that she both A) adopts a son that is HIV positive, and B) stops at nothing to find him, even if that means putting her marriage and life in jepardy. She is a tough character who rises up to every challenge rather than wilt away with sorrow like so many other movie characters with missing children.

The Orphanage is a film that is filled with both suspense and heart. It is a ghost story that doesn't just go for cheap thrills, but rather builds up suspense by giving us a character that we care about and that we root for. Aided by strong images filled with high contrast lighting and a beautifully mixed haunting sound design.

Rumble Fish - Francis Ford Coppola - 1983

Rumble Fish is a film that took me by surprise. Late one night I was flipping through the channels and caught a glimpse of a scene from the film that made me immediately go online and but the film.

What caught my eye was the ultra stylized way that the film was done, the scene that got me hooked involved a highly choreographed Rumble which ended with a motorcycle crashing into a man before doing multiple flips.

Similar to The Outsiders, Ruble Fish is based of a book by S.E. Hinton, and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola who did this film immediately after The Outsiders, taking some of the cast with him. That is, however, where the similarities stop as Rumble Fish is a much darker and stylized film that The Outsiders.

The film follows Rusty James (Matt Dillon), a small-town thug whose stuck in a life of repetition. He idealizes his older brother, a bazaar character only known as The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) who he wants desperately to come back. However, when Motorcycle returns he has changed and wants his brother to leave town and the thug lifestyle and make something of himself.

The fact that the film is in black and white lends itself to helping the audience see the world through the eyes of the colorblind Motorcycle boy. There are some scenes with color highlights, which are the best use of color I think I've ever seen.

The art direction of the film was carefully done so that a clock is seen in every scene, and damn near every shot, and the visuals of the film are aided by a sleepy and haunting jazz track.

Rumble Fish is a film that appears slick on the surface but deep down has some real depth and heart.

Le Samorai - Jean-Pierre Melville - 1967 - France

Le Samorai is a film that is the definition of style. Melville created a masterpiece by weaving together French pop, American gangster, and the Japanese lone Samorai.

The film follows Jef (Alain Delon) a contract killer who lives a simple life filled with routine and rules, which is in stark contrast to the frivilous culture that surrounds him. He hardly speaks and his grey clothes match his apartment walls so well, that in the opening shot you have to examine the room to find him.

Jef's life gets more complicated when a beautiful pianist (Cathy Rosier) catches him leaving a crime scene, catching him red handed. However, being the constant professional that he is, Jef never seems to break a sweat, no matter how many guns get put in his face. He just goes about his business as emotionlessly as before. However, when the pianist doesn't turn him in, Jef's mind begins to wander why.

Everything in this film works well together especially the sets and the color, or shall I say lack of color as everything in the film seems to be either black, white, or gray.

If you're looking for a great character piece that is dripping with cool and one that comments on modern society without being heavy handed then Le Samorai is a can't miss.

(500) Days Of Summer - Marc Webb - 2009

(500) Days Of Summer is a perfect follow up to Once, because it is a similar story done in a completely different way. Once was a film that perfectly fit the style of realism, while (500) Days of Summer is a film drenched in formalism, meaning that there are many elements in the film (split screen, voice over, etc.) that remind us that we're watching a movie.

(500) Days of Summer follows Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he helplessly falls in love with Summer (Zooey Dechanel) a woman who doesn't believe in love. The story is non linear, it starts towards the end and then bounces back between days numbered 1-500. This mimics the way that we remember relationships, especially the bad ones. Our minds can't help but think of the good times when all of a sudden a bad memory shows up.

The film is quirky, fun, and often times heartbreaking (much like a relationship). Marc Webb was able to fill the film many memorable moments by using techniques to let us see what Tom is feeling rather than telling us. In one scene when Tom is happy we jump into a musical dance sequence, in another the screen splits, showing us Tom's expectations for an evening and the actual reality.

(500) Days of Summer is a must see for anyone wanting a fun film that is out of the ordinary.

Once - John Carney - 2006 - Ireland

Realism is not something you think of when you think about musicals, the exception of this is in the 2006 film Once, a heartfelt film that at times feels so realistic that you think you are watching a documentary.

What makes Once different than most other musicals is the fact that the songs are sang in a natural real word kind of way which is in, in contrast to the traditional song and dance. The music is almost all diegetic, meaning that the source of the sound is seen on the screen (except for one song).

The story is about a street performer (played by Irish Folk Rock singer Glen Hansard) who is in a crossroads of his life when he meets a woman (Marketa Irglova) who he quickly falls for, especially when the two begin working on music together. The story is simple and most of all believable and will stick with you well after the film is done.

The soundtrack of the film is phenomenal and will have you wanting to buy it immediately after the credits end.

The Night Of The Hunter - Charles Laughton - 1955

Today's Recommendation is for the only film that legendary actor Charles Laughton ever directed, which is the controversial and damn near perfect The Night Of The Hunter.

I wanted to recommend and discuss this film as early as I could because many of the films I will talk about later make reference to this cult classic. For example the Coen Brothers reference it in every film they can, and Spike Lee used an entire monologue from this film in his classic Do The Right Thing.

Simply put, The Night Of The Hunter is a film about two children on the run from a serial killer preacher named Harry Powell (played brilliantly by Robert Mitchum). Even though this may sound like the setup a classic chase type film, Director Charles Laughton made it far more by tackling major issues like religion and sex and intertwined them in a way that was so controversial at the time, the Catholic Church wanted the film destroyed. This outrage from the Church was due largely to the fact that Laughton made the bedroom a church and the bed an altar in which women were sacrificed by a man of god.

The relationship that tenderness and violence have is highlighted by the most referenced and iconic image from the film, which is the tattooed words Love and Hate on Harry Powell's knuckles, which he uses when delivering his false sermon.

Although Evil is heavily represented in the film, it is balanced by opposing forces of good. The killer preacher Harry Powell uses religion in a very dark way, which is later contrasted by the pure and faithful Rachel Cooper (played by Lillian Gish) a mother goose type character who uses religion to teach a positive message to her many adopted children. Visually this balance is highlighted by the use of high contrast lighting with very harsh shadows, making clear cut areas of light and dark.

The Night Of The Hunter is a scary and surprisingly fun film with one of the most memorable villains you will ever see, with tension that keeps you glued to your screen.

Winter's Bone - Debra Granik - 2010

With The Hunger Games being released today I thought it would be appropriate to briefly talk about and recommend the film that made everyone start talking about Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone. Lawrence plays Ree, a teenage girl trying to find her drug dealing father, a task made more difficult due to the fact that she is stuck in the male dominated society of the Ozark Mountains.

Gender plays a huge part in the film as both women and men seem forced into the roles they are given. Domestic abuse in the film seems to be like an unspoken agreement between husband and wife, this is highlighted by the line "I've already told you once with my mouth."

Lawrence is fantastic in the role, (which is similar to her character Katniss in The Hunger Games) and is surrounded by other great performances. John Hawkes is brilliant as Teardrop, a rough yet likable man, and Dale Dickey gives a great performance as the alpha dog in a pack of vicious housewives.

Granik shows us that she is a director with a great sense of visual storytelling. And her attention to detail and Mise En Scene is really impressive.

Shadow Of A Doubt - Alfred Hitchcock - 1943

Let's start off with the perhaps the best filmmaker of all time. Shadow Of A Doubt is without doubt the film that made me fall in love with Hitchcock. It's a film that has been said to be Hitchcock's favorite film of his own. The film uses one of Hitchcock's favorite themes and that is of the doppleganger, or the evil double. The film has so many doubles in it that it's impossible to name them all without rambling. My favorite of which is the use of the same sequence of shots used to introduce both the protagonist and antagonist, creating a connection between the two.

The story follows a young girl named Charlie who is excited to hear that her uncle (also named Charlie) is coming to town to visit. Her excitement turns to fear and confusion when she begins to uncover her uncles dark secret. The impending doom is foreshadowed by a thick cloud of black smoke that comes bellowing out from the train that carries uncle Charlie, smoke which covers the platform and the innocent family waiting to pick up good ol' Uncle Charlie.

If your looking for a film that is a perfect example of visual storytelling and want to see a director at the top of his game Shadow Of A Doubt is a can't miss.

Welcome

Welcome to my movie blog. I'm a screenwriter and Filmmaker and general film geek. Each post on this blog will contain a film recommendation and a short blurb about why I find each film special, almost like a mini review.

This blog will contain a different recommendation/review everyday so check back in to see which new films I have added.