Taste Of Cherry (1997)

One night, I could not get to sleep and was feeling unwell. Best advice usually is to get out of bed and do something else in another room until you feel tired. I felt like starting to watch something and as soon as I felt sleepy, I’d finish it the next day. I don’t mind […]

New Rose Hotel (1998)

New Rose Hotel (1998) is based on a William Gibson short story but is pretty low-tech in terms of being anything cyberpunk. For director Abel Ferrara (of Bad Lieutenant and King Of New York), it’s more about the raw emotions surrounding what is basically a classic noir plot – a honey trap designed to secure […]

The Exorcist III (1990)

I remember when I was younger seeing a video ad for The Exorcist III (1990) where the eyes of a Jesus statue slowly opened, which spooked me to no end as an image – now, that moment seemed weird and a bit silly. William Peter Blatty (author of the original Exorcist novel) wrote and directed […]

Beau Travail (1999)

Finally followed through on Kenta McGrath’s recommendation and watched Beau Travail (1999). I’d already seen the ending multiple times with its use of Corona’s ‘Rhythm Of The Night’ but I was still surprised by the elliptical way the film unfolded. Even though it is told through Galoup’s narration (Denis Lavant, amazing) of his time in […]

Raising Cain (1993)

John Lithgow running the acting olympics in Raising Cain (1993), doing the most by playing the most characters, both real and/or imagined. Director Brian De Palma’s underrated early ‘90s return to the thriller genre, riffing on Hitchcock and Psycho once again in a story about baby stealing, infidelity and multiple personalities. I’d seen this before […]