Hollywood Cinema
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ONCE A THIEF… (Dir. Ralph Nelson, 1965, US/France)
* * In Ralph Nelson’s 1965 noir heist thriller, Once a Thief, the exponential narrative pacing may test the patience, but Alain Delon’s performance is a noteworthy attraction, marking one of the few times the charismatic French star engaged with traditional American noir. The storyline adheres to familiar genre tropes: an ex-con’s struggle for redemption Continue reading
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BLOOD AND WINE (Dir. Bob Rafelson, 1996, US)
* * In Bob Rafelson’s uneven neo noir tale, Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of a sleazy, violent thief was part of a peaceful nineties’ renaissance that saw him clocking up him a whole new repertoire of roles that were less about scope and more about endearing himself to new audiences. Blood and Wine is a minor Continue reading
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INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Dir. Philip Kaufman, 1978, US)
* * * * Revisiting Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers in a pristine 4K transfer reaffirms its status as a paragon of the horror-science fiction hybrid, a genre blend rarely executed with such finesse. Very few filmmakers have been able to pull it off – Carpenter with The Thing (1982) is one of Continue reading
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PRINCE OF THE CITY (Dir. Sidney Lumet, 1981, US)
* * * * Lumet’s NY films, which are so many, expressly the one’s rooted in the elements of crime map something venal about a city that few filmmakers have been able to articulate with such detail and intimacy. Prince of the City is often regarded as Lumet’s masterpiece; a sprawling crime epic about Daniel Continue reading
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CIVIL WAR (Dir. Alex Garland, 2024, US)
* * * In arguably Alex Garland’s finest work to date, Civil War transports audiences to a grimly plausible near future where America has devolved into a nightmarish civil conflict. This dystopian political road movie is notable for its perspective, chronicling the harrowing journey of a band of maverick freelance journalists. Their quest for truth Continue reading
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