Frownland (2007)

I’d always been curious about Frownland (2007) ever since reading Roger Ebert’s review upon its release – it sounded uncompromising and aggravating, a punishing American indie “comedy”, the type of thing that would never get a cinema release (well, in Australia) and you would have to wait until an import DVD might be available at […]

Support The Girls (2018)

A friend working in a video store (shout-out to Kirsten!) lent me a preview DVD that contained director Andrew Bujalski’s Funny Ha Ha. We both loved that movie and became mublecore fans. But there was always something about Bujalski, particularly now as his movies appear more like mainstream comedies like Results, he still retains a […]

C’mon C’mon (2021)

I’m a Mike Mills guy. I wasn’t so much into Thumbsucker, but I became a fan through his autobiographical-inflected indie dramas like Beginners (based on his father) and especially 20th Century Women (based on his mother). I’m completely aware that some will dismiss Mills’ humanistic writing and design approach (complete with elegantly designed montages and […]

The Missing Person (2009)

Michael Shannon and John Ventimiglia on the side of a dusty road talking for five minutes about what breed of dog Serpico had in the film Serpico is my idea of cinema, baby! That’s one scene from the neo-noir comedy-drama, The Missing Person (2009), which stars Michael Shannon as an alcoholic private eye named John […]

Blood Feast (1963)

Herschell Gordon Lewis is a name I’ve often heard about but never really been keen to explore; the archetypal still from one of his 1960s-era movies in my mind’s eye is a leering sadist at a table where a nubile woman is submerged in shiny guts and paint-thick blood. Much like Troma cinema, I’m happy […]