Pusher III (2005)

By the third entry in the Pusher series, there’s an assumed narrative trajectory and familar story pattern: the camera follows the protagonist as they slowly start to get in over their heads with deals and debts. Yet it’s interesting across the three movies how the tone is still uniquely set by the lead character and […]

The Blackout (1997)

Continuing my deep dive into the back catalogue of Abel Ferrara, The Blackout (1997) is a film of two halves, which combine to form a portrait of addiction. The opening sets up a hedonistic LA lifestyle with movie star Matty (Matthew Modine) returning home from a film shoot, ready to reunite with his girlfriend Annie […]

Bliss (2019)

Joe Begos had two films as a director in this year’s MonsterFest and Bliss (2019) was made before VFW on a low budget, shot on 16mm, and exorcising the director’s own creative funk through the horror genre. Focusing on a painter (Dora Madison Burge, from Friday Night Lights) in a career slump who decides to […]

Heaven Knows What (2014)

After rewatching the Safdie Brothers’ excellent film Good Time on Netflix (this is now my go-to Netflix recommendation now that King Of Comedy is no longer on there), I realised I’d not seen any of their earlier movies. Some of their low budget dramas are hard to find, like Daddy Longlegs, but Heaven Knows What […]