Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Often good acting is equated to external tics and Denzel Washington’s performance in Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017) is a barrage of choices. The glasses, the fro, the gap in his teeth, the bow-legged walk, and so on. There are a lot of choices to create this character but I thought they were deeply felt […]

I Am Sartana, Your Angel Of Death (1969)

I was not familiar with the Sartana spaghetti westerns until Arrow Video released a boxset, their remastered versions available on Tubi to stream. The first one I watched was I Am Sartana, Your Angel Of Death (1969; Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino), the second in the series, and what a character, dressed in all black […]

Pusher II (2004)

Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands (2004) is the movie I thought Pusher was going to be. Scenes set in red-lit brothels, tense heists, and a coiled intensity to its main actor. Nicolas Winding Refn’s sequel spins-off to stick a supporting character in the lead, the shit-talking thug, Tonny (played by Mads Mikkelsen). Released […]

Rocco And His Brothers (1960)

Sometimes watching an old classic might feel like homework. A three hour black and white movie seems like a heavy undertaking. Then you watch a film of that length and vintage, and the time passes by quicker than you thought because you are deeply invested in the characters and storytelling. So it was with Luchino […]

Eureka (1983)

I remember stumbling across Nicolas Roeg’s film Eureka (1983) one late night on television and being blown away by the listed cast and the amazing first act documenting a prospector Jack McCann (Gene Hackman) searching for gold in the snowy mountains. I think I had to go to bed and missed out on the rest […]