Arrival (2016) Director: Denis Villeneuve Sometimes the science fiction genre feels tired, cliche, played out, but Arrival is a surprisingly fresh take on the alien invasion cinematic trope. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. The plot is based … Continue reading Arrival
Tag: film
How Green Was My Valley
How Green Was My Valley (1941) Director: John Ford How Green Was My Valley is the film version of Richard Llewellyn's popular 1939 novel of the same name. He claimed the story was autobiographical, but this was proven to be untrue after his death. Instead, he interviewed a number of families from Gilfach Goch, where … Continue reading How Green Was My Valley
From Russia With Love
From Russia With Love (1963) Director: Terence Young The second James Bond film was again directed by Terence Young (he was the director of several early Bond films). After the tremendous success of 1962's Dr. No, United Artists quickly pushed for a sequel to be released, and the film was rushed to completion by October … Continue reading From Russia With Love
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) Director: Frank Capra ★★★★☆ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is Frank Capra's masterpiece, the natural parallel to his earlier Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). This was Jimmy Stewart's fifth film, and certainly his career-defining breakthrough, after the prior year being also cast alongside Jean Arthur in Frank Capra's You Can't Take … Continue reading Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Stagecoach
Stagecoach (1939) Director: John Ford ★★★★★ Stagecoach brought about a revival in the Western genre, which had largely fallen out of favor in the late '20s and '30s. The Western is a mythic depiction of the Western country and prairie, a largely historically untrue heroic story of courage and goodness in an amoral land of … Continue reading Stagecoach
Visages d’enfants
Visages d'enfants (1923) Director: Jacques Feyder ★★★★★ "The Faces of Children" is a simple and beautiful film. It is a French-Swiss pastoral movie that takes place amidst the incredible landscape of the village of Saint-Luc in the mountainous Haut-Valais region of Switzerland. It is a psychological exploration, remarkably complex for the time, and it tells … Continue reading Visages d’enfants
