Tag Archives: American movies

a feel-good dystopia (film: Strawberry Mansion – Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney, 2021)

Are there dystopias that are at the same time ‘feel good’ films? The couple of screenwriters and directors Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney strive to prove that the answer is ‘yes!’ with ‘Strawberry Mansion‘, their film made in 2021. It … Continue reading

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a case still open (film: May December – Todd Haynes, 2023)

‘May December‘ (2023) has been compared many times to Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Persona’, and director Todd Haynes, far from denying the influence, has acknowledged and commented on it in several interviews and festivals press conferences. Personally, I think that if we … Continue reading

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iron lady (film: Miss Sloane – John Madden, 2016)

Film director John Madden has made some of my favorite films in the romantic genre, but for the past few years he seems more interested in thrillers in their various forms. The turning point seems to have been ‘Miss Sloane‘, … Continue reading

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the destroyer of worlds (film: Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan, 2023)

It’s only the middle of summer and we are almost half a year before the Academy nominations, but I think we already have one of the serious contenders for collecting many of the 2024 awards in Christopher Nolan‘s ‘Oppenheimer‘. It’s … Continue reading

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a remake that does not disapoint (film: M – Joseph Losey, 1951)

The history of remakes is full of failures. In 99% of cases the opinions of critics and viewers consider that remakes do not live up to the original films. When it comes to American productions that take ideas and stories … Continue reading

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three stories in one good movie (film: Nocturnal Animals – Tom Ford, 2016)

‘Nocturnal Animals‘ (2016) directed and written by Tom Ford (adaptation of a novel by Austin Wright) is one of the smartest, best written and well executed films of the last decade, a film that I watched with great delay. I … Continue reading

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political and romantic escapism (film: Long Shot – John Irvine, 2019)

Romantic comedy and high politics have already met many times in American films. Americans (and not just Americans) are fascinated by the White House. The Oval Office is probably the most filmed and recreated room in the history of American … Continue reading

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back to the 40s (film: Farewell, My Lovely – Dick Richards, 1975)

The biography of Dick Richards, the director of ‘Farewell, My Lovely‘ (1975) is an enigma to me. This screen adaptation (the second, the first had been made in 1944) of one of Raymond Chandler‘s novels with private detective Phil Marlowe … Continue reading

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the 4th question (film: Oldboy – Spike Lee, 2013)

In one of the key scenes of this 2013 version of ‘Oldboy‘, the Bad Guy asks the film’s hero two questions. Correct answers in a limited time are conditions of his survival. Furthermore, the villain points out to him that … Continue reading

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a good computer-screen thriller (film: Searching – Aneesh Chaganthy, 2018)

Movies that take place mostly or even exclusively on computer screens are not exactly a novelty anymore. In the last 20 years I have seen such productions in different genres – from romantic comedies to science fiction epics. The compression … Continue reading

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