The Master
February 28, 2013
When Paul Thomas Anderson started his career with the impressive one-two punch of Hard Eight (1996) and Boogie Nights (1997), he was touted as an exciting young filmmaker that wore his influences on his sleeve, most notably the work of Jonathan Demme...
Walk the Line
March 13, 2006
Capitalizing on the popularity of Ray (2004), Walk the Line (2005) also chronicles the turbulent career and life of an iconic musician, applying the same plot structure – their lives have parallel arcs and hit the same dramatic beats. Like Ray Charles,...
Gladiator: Extended Edition
February 1, 2006
We all know the story. In 1999, Ridley Scott hadn’t made anything decent since Thelma and Louise eight years previously, Russell Crowe was just starting to get noticed after The Insider and as for Joaquin Phoenix, who the hell is he? Cut to 2005...
Ladder 49
October 22, 2005
The fact that Ladder 49 (2004) celebrates firefighters is admirable in and of itself but it unfortunately portrays them in such a simplistic way that Ron Howard’s Backdraft (1991) seems like the epitome of moral complexity by comparison. You know you’re...
The Village
July 4, 2005
The Village (2004) is an evolution, of sorts, for the M. Night Shyamalan formula. Instead of focusing on one protagonist as he has done in his previous films, he has shifted the focus to an ensemble drama. It is also his first period drama in which the...
The Village
December 16, 2004
There are those out there that consider M. Night Shyamalan to be this generation’s Hitchcock (albeit with a thirst for horror), and there are those who consider him a hack who relies on outlandish plot twists. If you didn’t like The Sixth...
Signs
October 31, 2003
Signs is Shyamalan’s third major feature film (fourth if you count the fact that he wrote the screenplay for Stuart Little – yeah I couldn’t believe it either! – anyway back to Signs!) It centres on the Hess family, living on the...
Gladiator
August 25, 2003
With every successful film comes a torrent of derision from the press, Gladiator was no exception. Mauled for its plodding script, wafer thin plot and poor acting. But was any of this warranted? Well yes actually, but only the part about the script. The...
Buffalo Soldiers
December 7, 2002
Buffalo Soldiers (2001) had the misfortune of being scheduled to come out in theatres the day after 9/11. Miramax, understandably nervous about releasing a black comedy about the U.S. Army so close after such a devastating event, shelved the film for...
