Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

Available to watch on Netflix is a new documentary by Kirsten Johnson called Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020). Who is Dick Johnson? Dick Johnson is Kirsten the director’s father and it is a look at the subject of death by having her dad star in fake constructions of his potential death – walking on the […]

Defending Your Life (1991)

This might be a generalisation, but it felt like the late-1980s/early-1990s were all about high concept comedies, usually involving time travel, reincarnation, body swapping, and the afterlife. I remember the video cover for the Albert Brooks film, Defending Your Life (1991), but watching it had eluded me until the Albert Brooks collection on the Criterion […]

Donkey Skin (1970)

Donkey Skin (1970; Peau d’âne) is directed by Jacques Demy and apparently was his most successful movie in France, a lavish fairytale starring Catherine Devenue. In contrast to modern fairytales that rely on CGI to create a world of fantasy, this is very old school in its approach, filmed exteriors at an actual castle and […]

Duelle (1976)

Browsing through the library feature of Mubi, I stumbled across Duelle (1976; Duelle (une quarantaine), directed by Jacques Rivette, and I was drawn in by the plot summary describing a battle between the Daughter Of The Moon (Juliet Berto) and the Daughter Of The Sun (Bulle Ogier). A fantasy battle is embedded in noir styled […]

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

A musical tribute to the classic Beatles album but with The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton singing the songs – without much change or interpretation in delivery. This is what Robert Stigwood (producer of hit film musicals like Tommy, Saturday Night Fever and Grease) gambled on with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), resulting […]