Film Review: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Anyone familiar with Francis Ford Coppola's work will know that his 70s films, despite their frequently violent subject matter, were often characterized by marvelous restraint. This makes his career progression in later decades all the more fascinating. For example, after a decade of commercial failures Coppola emerged from the 1980s with two pieces of cinematic lunacy:…Read more Film Review: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Film Review: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Steeped in atmospheric dread, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre is easily one of the most distinctive vampire movies ever made. With its mystical imagery and foreboding score, the film gradually takes on the appearance of a bad dream, a waking nightmare from which none of the characters can escape. That being said, it is not…Read more Film Review: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

The Psychotic Rebel – A Dramaturgical Analysis of American Psycho

For most who have encountered the character of Patrick Bateman – either in the original 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, or in its adaptation starring Christian Bale – it is difficult to associate him as a symbol of rebellion. Greedy, misogynistic and utterly vapid, the character seems to be a rock-solid personification…Read more The Psychotic Rebel – A Dramaturgical Analysis of American Psycho

“There Are No More Surprises” – On The Last Kiss and The Problem With the Zach Braff Brand

Between his starring role in Scrubs, and his auspicious directorial debut Garden State, Zach Braff was endeared to nearly an entire generation of viewers in the early/mid-2000s. However, by 2006 things were starting to slow down. I'll never forget seeing Braff's pensive mug staring at me that year from the posters of The Last Kiss,…Read more “There Are No More Surprises” – On The Last Kiss and The Problem With the Zach Braff Brand

Film Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Since the release of the original Matrix 15 years ago, the Wachowskis have become deeply embedded in the world of high concept sci-fi. Their most recent release, Jupiter Ascending - which opened last Friday, is no exception to this trend, offering an outlandish, operatic version of the tried and true monomyth. The film is by no…Read more Film Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

On American Sniper or How Chris Kyle Put Aside the Cowboy and Became a Man

The late Chris Kyle was a highly decorated veteran, dubbed "The Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History". However, Kyle's story has also been polarizing, with seemingly everyone having an opinion on the man's actions. Nowhere has this debate been more recently visible (or more humorous) than in the Internet's response to Clint Eastwood's American…Read more On American Sniper or How Chris Kyle Put Aside the Cowboy and Became a Man

Film Review: The Furies (1950)

When one is forced to think of directors typically associated with the western genre, only a few names leap instantly to mind. After one immediately blurts out "JOHN FORD" and "CLINT EASTWOOD" and fumbles around to say "um... well... oh gee... Sergio Leone?" the wellspring usually runs dry. This is certainly understandable; these men did…Read more Film Review: The Furies (1950)

Film Review: One, Two, Three (1961)

Billy Wilder is a name synonymous with Hollywood classics. During his tenure as a movie-making big shot, Wilder produced a string of acclaimed features, including Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole and Some Like it Hot. With such iconic films littering the man's resume, it is perhaps no surprise that are many entries…Read more Film Review: One, Two, Three (1961)

Examining Exodus: How Ridley Scott’s Film Hates Not Only Brown Actors, But All Actors

"I can’t mount a film of this budget [...] and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such." - Ridley Scott (2014) A feeling of castration and omission pervades the heart of Ridley Scott's new film, the big, lumbering, impersonal and frankly idiotic Exodus: Gods and Kings. Not only do many of the…Read more Examining Exodus: How Ridley Scott’s Film Hates Not Only Brown Actors, But All Actors