Sometimes it seems to film fans that every American movie is made in (or at least takes place in) NYC, produced by film companies based out of LA. Even with so many movies dick riding on New York and LA, every once-in-a-while the off brand megalopolis of Chicago busts out its crop of home grown […]
Year: 2016
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Top 10 Underrated Nicolas Cage Movie Performances
There is not a more divisive American actor working in mainstream movies today than Nicolas Cage. To many he is a joke, overacting his way through low quality movies that don’t have much staying power past becoming fodder for Youtube sketches and internet memes. To others, he once showed promise, but is now a has-been […]
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The 15 Best Movies About America by Foreign Directors
Sometimes the point of view of an outsider can illuminate aspects of a culture that those within it cannot see. The United States is a vast and complex land full of diverse cultures and geography with enough subject matter for hundreds of movies. The themes and styles of the films on this list are diverse. […]
Pulling Focus: Withnail and I (1987)
“The best British comedy ever made? Possibly. A masterpiece? Unquestionably.” – Ali Catterall, Film4 Where I’m calling from From the tender and impassioned sound of King Curtis’ live recorded cover of Procul Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” in the opening scene to the finishing drizzly goodbye by the wolf enclosure in Regent’s Park, […]
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10 Reasons Why “Arrival” Is The Best Sci-Fi Film Of The Decade
Accomplished Québécois filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi follow-up to 2015’s Sicario, Arrival, may well be my favorite film of 2016. It’s an ecstatic and otherworldly experience, extraordinarily romantic, deeply moving, and filled with buoyancy, and wonder. Arrival is also something of a weepie––though importantly it earns its tears in an honest manner, there’s no emotional blackmail […]
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The 30 Best Uses of Close-Up In Cinema History
The close-up is one of the most known and recognizable techniques cinema has to offer. The name refers to every shot that focuses on a person or a object by framing it closer than it is usual. The subject of this list are the best close-ups of faces, which of all the possible uses of […]