Throw Down (2004)

Director Johnnie To said in an interview that he “didn’t want any antagonists” in the Hong Kong film, Throw Down (2004). This is intriguing to hear – no antagonists in a neo-noir martial arts movie set in the backstreets, gambling dens and smoky bars of Hong Kong? And that is specifically about the fighting form […]

Bay Of Angels (1963)

From the very first shot I knew I’d made the right decision to watch Bay Of Angels (1963; La baie des anges): it’s a shot of glamorous Jeanne Moreau standing in a street near the water at Monte Carlo, the camera immediately pulling away and racing backwards down the street. Directed by Jacques Demy, his […]

Heat (1986)

Not to be confused with the cops-and-robbers epic starring DeNiro and Pacino, Heat (1986) is based on a novel written by William Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride. I remember reading about it in his book, Adventures In The Screen Trade, and how the film adaptation went […]

Quintet (1979)

I was always intrigued by the existence of Quintet (1979), a poorly-reviewed box office flop and low point in both director Robert Altman and actor Paul Newman’s careers. As a kid leafing through my Mum’s Paul Newman books, the idea of a sci-fi flick about a death game sounded great, but this was before the […]

California Split (1974)

I love rewatching California Split (1974). Even though it is ultimately a sad movie about gambling and addiction, it is a hang out movie with Elliott Gould and George Segal in peak 1970s charismatic handsomeness. Director Robert Altman creates such a sense of place and vibe with the widescreen lensing (cinematography by Paul Lohmann) and […]