Category: Education
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“Bird Box” is Typical, Lazy, Trope-filled Garbage
Bird Box I don’t know why I expect films that set up a difficult “Why” premise to ever answer it. It never happens. Why did aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) arrive, and what did they look like? Why did the hitmen in Pulp Fiction (1994) feel so adamant about protecting the…
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“The Peregrine” is a Masterclass in Writing
The Peregrine Sublime and beautiful, violently poetic and gently observant, J. A. Baker weaves an unsettlingly fervent non-narrative account of the deadliest and fastest hunters of the sky. His almost stoic language stands as the absolute greatest nonfiction prose I’ve ever read. The Peregrine isn’t about birdwatching or nature; it’s about the shame and disgust of…
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“The Secret Language of Film” – How Carrière’s Theories Still Hold Up Today
Beautifully crafted essays by French film theorist Jean-Claude Carrière, who was himself a highly prolific and successful screenwriter – working for the likes of Buñuel and Volker Schlöndorff. And the man has a certain command of language that is equal parts moving, inspiring, clear, and devastating. This book not only covers the vast distance of…
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My All-Time Favourite Film – Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”
Stalker A particularly difficult review because this film is, academically and in my own opinion, one of the greatest ever made – if not THE greatest. It is a perfect harmony of directorial vision against all odds, perfectly balancing every production element at the creator’s disposal into a masterpiece of visual storytelling. The film is…