Category Archives: movies

a remarkable debut (film: Tropicana – Omer Tobi, 2024)

‘Tropicana‘ (2024) is the debut feature film of a young director – Omer Tobi -, known so far mainly for music-related films (music videos and a television series). And what a debut! In 82 minutes, this film (for which Omer … Continue reading

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the ultimate conspiracy thriller (film: Capricorn One – Peter Hyams, 1978)

‘Capricorn One‘ was produced and released in the same years (1978-79) as ‘Superman’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Alien’, ‘Grease’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Deer Hunter’. The estimated budget of around $5 million was modest by the Hollywood standard at the time and probably … Continue reading

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TNGng – (film: The Naked Gun – Akiva Schaffer, 2025)

The producers of the new ‘The Naked Gun‘ insist on calling their film as a ‘reboot’ rather than a ‘remake’ of the original series. I’m not sure that I understood all the subtle differences between the new cinematic category and … Continue reading

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the indiscrete wickedness of the bourgeoisie (film: La rupture – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

Some of the most scathing cinematic critiques of the bourgeoisie and the social order it dominated were created in the years after the student uprisings of 1968. They did not always take the form of explicitly political films, and one … Continue reading

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chasing evil (film: M – Fritz Lang, 1931)

It’s hard to believe that Fritz Lang‘s ‘M‘ was made in 1931. This film is so bold, unconventional, inventive, stylish, dark and scary that even today, if it were projected or released with minor changes and modernizations, it would stir … Continue reading

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a cake too sweet (film: About Time – Richard Curtis, 2013)

Richard Curtis is one of the most successful screenwriters in the ‘feel-good’ romantic comedy genre. Some of its remarkable successes are due to his writing. He has only dared to sit in the director’s chair three times in order to … Continue reading

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the two hemispheres of Europe (film: Jaful secolului – Teodora Mihai, 2024)

Films about migrations, emigrants and immigrants are an important genre in world cinema, but not in Romanian cinema. ‘Jaful secolului‘ a.k.a. ‘The Heist of the Century‘ (which also circulates worldwide with the alternative titles ‘Traffic‘ and ‘Rheostat‘) has as its … Continue reading

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on the ruins of Germany (film: Germania anno zero – Roberto Rossellini, 1948)

‘Germany Year Zero‘, filmed by Roberto Rossellini in 1947 and released in 1948, is one of those films about which entire bookshelves have been written and can still be written. In less than 80 minutes, this film manages to be … Continue reading

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adventures in Africa (film: L’africain – Philippe de Broca, 1983)

‘L’africain‘ is a film that had all the premises of a great success. It was released in 1983 as a kind of French cinema industry’s response to the trend of action films set in exotic locations generated by the enormous … Continue reading

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a remarkable film by a master of theatre (film: Lord of the Flies – Peter Brook, 1963)

Peter Brook was one of the greatest directors in the history of theatre, but he experimented with film in the first half of his career. ‘Lord of the Flies‘ (1963) is his second and last full-fledged venture into the world … Continue reading

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