The End of Summer (1961; Yasujiro Ozu) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes “I was born, and here I am. That’s all that matters.” There is no more powerful a sequence of images in the cinema than a Yasujiro Ozu shot-reverse-shot. The great Japanese director was a master of […]
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964; Billy Wilder) GRADE: A By Daniel Barnes Dean Martin occupies a fascinating area in the American imagination. He is famed for being a lecherous boozehound, yet there is nothing he could have done on the screen or in public to stain his crushed velvet […]
The Class (2008; Laurent Cantet) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes While Hollywood films are typically and predictably dismissive of school teachers (and all public servants, really) as pedants, snobs, fascists, and/or layabouts, there also exists a mostly icky vein of educator-as-hero stories. Movies ranging from Goodbye, Mr. Chips […]
The Holy Mountain (1973; Alejandro Jodorowsky) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes Where do you even begin to penetrate something as insane, and insanely inventive, as Jodorowsky’s psychedelic religious parable? Here is the plot synopsis offered by IMDB: “This film gives the omniscient view of what social engineering caused by […]
To Die For (1995; Gus Van Sant) GRADE: A- By Mike Dub Director Gus Van Sant has always been sympathetic to the anguish of teenagers. With varying quality (anything from My Own Private Idaho to Finding Forrester) his films express the troubles of American youth with great sensitivity. […]
Antoine and Colette (1962; Francois Truffaut) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes Every month in our Time of the Season feature, we will be offering seasonal movie suggestions based on a common theme. In honor of Valentine’s Day, our February Time of the Season theme is “First Love.” It’s […]
