The brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière were two of the earliest and most influential film directors. La Charcuterie Méchanique (1895), considered one of the earliest “sc-fi” films of all time, predicts the mechanical butcher. A rather simple machine “transforms” a pig into Continue reading
films
A Film Rumination: A Sunday in the Country, Bertrand Tavernier (1984)
7/10 (Good)
The famous French director Bertrand Tavernier has produced some remarkable films (Coup de Torchon and Life and Nothing But for example). A Sunday in the Country is considered by many to be among his best. My opinion is more tempered — if you’re in the mood for a minimalist family drama in the beautiful French countryside without much “drama” Continue reading
A Film Rumination: It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Edward L. Cahn (1958)
5/10 (Bad — but definitely watch if you’re a B-film sci-fi fan)
I think the most important lesson I learned from the hilariously (occasionally) bad 50s sci-fi alien monster caper It! The Terror from Beyond Space is that in future female scientists and doctors still serve coffee and lunch… Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Dogtooth, Giorgos Lanthimos (2009)
8/10 (Very Good — heed the various caveats…)
2010, up for a best Foreign Film Oscar (Greece)
Giorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth (2009) is probably the strangest film ever nominated for an Oscar. The film treads a fine line between black comedy and excruciatingly/twisted dark drama. I found myself drawn into its bizarre otherworldly Continue reading
Update: 2010 in Review, best books, movies, etc
Here are my favorite films and books I reviewed this year. They are all highly recommended…
Best Science Fiction Novel
Brian Aldiss, Non-stop (variant title, Starship), (1958)
Starship is a top-notch 1950s work: fast, action-packed, thoughtful, Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Bed and Sofa, Abram Room (1927)
6.75/10 (Average — worth watching for those interested in foreign silent films)
Bed and Sofa (1927) was directed by Abram Room and remains his most well-known film. It tells the story of a ménage à trois (a very daring plot for Soviet cinema in the 1920s) between one woman (Liuda) and two men (Volodia and Kolia). Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Richard III, Richard Loncraine (1995)
8/10 (Very Good)
Richard Loncraine’s Richard III is an inventive adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play by the same name. Instead of a late medieval setting, we’re greeted with an industrial, Continue reading
Two (Short) Film Ruminations: Le Diable Noir (1905), Un Homme de Têtes (1898), Georges Méliès
The French director Georges Méliès (1861-1938) is rightly famous for his innovative use of special effects. He’s credited with inventing time-lapse photography, multiple exposures, stop-trick, and dissolves. I’ve selected two outrageously fun short films of his. He’s most famous for the sci-fi classic Voyage to the Moon, but any cinema lover will enjoy these two pieces of cinematic history.
Le Diable Noir (1905)
A Film Rumination: Three Crowns of the Sailor, Raoul Ruiz (1983)
8.25/10 (Very Good)
If Jan Potocki’s fantastic 18th century novel A Manuscript Found in Saragossa — a frame story within a frame story within a frame story — was recited over the course of a wine filled evening by a drunken sailor the result might conjure something of the kaleidoscope of heavily tinted Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 