Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

Recommended to me by Lindsay Hallam, Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion (1970; Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) has a classic theme score by Ennio Morricone, which adds to the film’s unusual tone. Better known as the bad guy from A Fistful Of Dollars and A Few More Dollars More, […]

Certain Women (2016)

Certain Women (2016) is based on the short stories by Maile Meloy, and set and shot in Montana, small towns and wide open plains, everything overcast and grey, filmed as a space of both beauty and loneliness. Three short narratives play out – a lawyer’s (Laura Dern) interaction with a disgruntled client (Jared Harris), a […]

First Reformed (2018)

Paul Schrader has been in the direct-to-video weeds for a few movies with mixed results (I disliked The Canyons but quite enjoyed the gonzo-noir of Dog Eat Dog). Even though critics praised First Reformed (2018) as a return to form, there was no cinema release for West Australian audiences – Schrader was still direct-to-digital; it’s […]

Popeye (1980)

I have vague memories of seeing the live action movie of Popeye (1980) on Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid. In recent memory, one of its Harry Nilsson penned songs sung by Shelly Duvall was used in PTA’s Punch-Drunk Love (“He needs me”). It was time to rewatch and more fully understand the […]

The Haunted Palace (1963)

In The Haunted Palace (1963), Vincent Price gets to play a sinister warlock burned to death by angry townsfolk in the opening scene – and 100 years later, a distant blood relative who moves to the town with his wife on account of inheriting the Warlock’s palace. Braving the cursed, suspicious townsfolk (check out the […]