The Lords Of Salem (2012)

I do have a soft spot for Rob Zombie – this is the guy who gave us ‘Dragula’ for crying out loud! As a director of horror films, sure, some of them feel like a pack of rabid drunks in a bar screaming horror movie references into your face, but I appreciated that he tried […]

Dogs In Space (1986)

People have always recommended Dogs In Space (1986) to me and I know for many people it means a lot to them, representing a time and place, the post-punk sub-culture of Melbourne in the late 1970s. It’s also a key cult text in Australian cinema, director Richard Lowenstein bringing one of the biggest rock stars […]

Cold War (2018)

Beautifully shot and composed in black and white by cinematographer Lukasz Zal, director Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War (2018; Zimna wojna) is an ode to a love that endures over decades despite great suffering. Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) meets Zula (Joanna Kulig) while both working for a state-sponsored music troupe that travels throughout post-war Poland. Their attraction […]

The Doom Generation (1995)

I remember The Doom Generation (1995) was released into cinemas when I was a teenager, as a hip US indie – maybe a bit on the back of Pulp Fiction and the similarity of Rose McGowan’s Louise Brooks bob/overall look to Uma Thurman. I also recall Roger Ebert – whose reviews I read back then […]

Go Go Tales (2007)

Abel Ferrara makes a comedy, Go Go Tales (2007), which is set in a go-go joint strip club, a project he’d always wanted to make, describing it as “Cheers meets The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie.” Much like Cassavettes’ film, Go Go Tales sees the strip club as a metaphor for filmmaking, for creative expression […]