The Sacrifice (1986)

The Sacrifice (1986; Offret) was one of Nathan Beard’s answers for ‘What movie would you want to watch when the world ends?’ when we held the VHS Tracking – Live event for Blue Room Theatre a year or so ago. I always had it in mind to watch because of that, alongside my ongoing journey […]

Smoke (1995)

There’s a feeling of comfort I get from Smoke (1995). It’s an indie drama that has serious moments about loss, grief, bad luck, the chaotic nature of the universe, and so on. But it also radiates a sleepy feeling of the third hour of hanging out with friends or the activity that animates around you […]

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 […]

The Rapture (1991)

Being a teenage fan of The X Files, I was aware of The Rapture (1991) as a movie David Duchovny was in before becoming Fox Mulder. Yet the central performance is by Mimi Rogers and she is great in delivering a character who shifts gradually throughout this movie’s ongoing thematic conversation with God and religion. […]

Sometimes A Great Notion (1971)

My mother had a couple of books about Paul Newman that I would leaf through growing up, so a lot of his movies would intrigue me and I’d remember the titles of. Sometimes A Great Notion (1971) was one I was keen to track down since Newman directed it himself and it was based on […]