The Power Of The Dog (2021)

Benedict Cumberbatch is the star of the new western drama, The Power Of The Dog (2021), directed by Jane Campion who is best known for The Piano, Holy Smoke, In The Cut and Bright Star. Based on a novel from the 1960s by Thomas Savage, an author I’m not familiar with, The Power Of The […]

Maps To The Stars (2014)

“Please. No film noir questions.” Maps To The Stars (2014) fits into the sub-genre of Hollywood noir or neo-noir rather, a descendant of Sunset Boulevard’s scathing look at the film industry, wrapped up in murder, gothic imagery, grotesqueries, and sardonic comedy. David Cronenberg’s film, the first he shot in Los Angeles, and working with a […]

Black Widow (1987)

There’s more than one Black Widow on Disney Plus – you can also check out the neo-noir Black Widow (1987) directed by Bob Rafelson (Five Easy Pieces, The King Of Marvin Gardens). I remember watching this when I was a kid on TV and being a bit underwhelmed – I thought there was going to […]

Saint Maud (2019)

Saint Maud (2019) is a critically acclaimed contemporary horror movie – the feature film debut of British director Rose Glass – that didn’t get a cinema release in Perth, and is now available direct to digital. There’s a cliche now of A24 type modern horror movies that are more like psychological character studies that only […]

White Heat (1949)

Tracking down the titles that I haven’t seen from Danny Peary’s Cult Movies 2 book has included a lot of Hollywood classics like White Heat (1949) directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, which was a critical and commercial success upon release. Nowadays, its known more for its a heavily referenced iconic closing line, […]