Laura (1944)

Laura (1944) has always been held up as a classic and a key title when it comes to the genre of film noir. What I was surprised by was, in comparison to say Raymond Chandler adaptations, there is something sophisticated about this film, a drawing room mystery rather than a plunge into the dark, gritty […]

Cutter’s Way (1981)

My high school library had a copy of Dan Peary’s book Cult Movies 2 and I’ve been trying to track down and watch the 50 films covered in there ever since. One that always intrigued me was Cutter’s Way (1981) if only to reconcile the hapless dad from Home Alone looking like a young pirate […]

Uncut Gems (2019)

The morning after I watched Uncut Gems (2019) on Netflix (where it’s been released for international audiences), I felt like I had a hangover: agitated, restless, but also euphoric over having finally seen something I was so hyped for. When we first see jeweller and gambler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) in his shop at the […]

The Lighthouse (2019)

On the basis of two films, Robert Eggers is cementing himself as a horror auteur interested in myth, folklore and a kind of New England turn of the century American horror. The Lighthouse (2019) is his second film after his critically acclaimed The VVitch. It will be challenging for some viewers – it’s black and […]

Thelma (2017)

The common comparison that Thelma (2017) gets is that it’s an arthouse Carrie. And it is about a young woman, Thelma (Eili Harboe), who discovers she has psychic powers while being torn between her religious upbringing and sexual desires. However, Norwegian director Joachim Trier still carries through his past work in empathetic character-based dramas (like […]