September 28, 2010

In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

Wong Kar-Wai is considered influential. In the Mood for Love (2000) was a big commercial success for him. How does it compare to Wong Kar-Wai’s other work?
March 22, 2010

Macunaïma (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969)

One of the most interesting aspects of South-American cinema is its post-colonial perspective. Having lived myself and being raised in a Third-world country, I can identify and relate to the plight of South-American characters, living up to their (displaced) roots while fighting their imposed colonial heritage. I’ve seen firsthand the social stratification that the colonial rule instilled into the indigenous […]
November 28, 2010

Overheard (Felix Chong and Alan Mak, 2009)

Overheard is a Hong Kong film from Alan Mak in the vein of Infernal Affairs, with magnificent performances from its lead actors.
April 20, 2010

3:10 To Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)

In 3:10 To Yuma, a down-on-his-luck farmer volunteers to escort an outlaw (Russell Crowe) to the 3:10 train out of Yuma which will lead him to jail.
March 22, 2010

City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002)

A reviewer compared City of God to Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) and many parallels could be made between the two. As they both fall into the genre of gangster films, they depict violence in a raw, uninhibited way, in a realist fashion. City of God, with its documentary-style aesthetic—camera shakes, voice-over narration, etc., uses that realism to emphasize its story’s […]