Some forty years ago, director Bernardo Bertolucci made Last Tango in Paris, a taunt and claustrophobic movie focusing on the obsessive and heavily sexualised relationship of its leads, Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. It was a great controversy in the early 70s, but became something of a critical benchmark, leading to Bertolucci shot up as … Continue reading
Older movies have a different style to them, a different means of editing and at times, a different kind of acting, which can make them seem very strange for modern viewers. But they also tend to be more focused on story and character, with perhaps more in common with plays than today’s cinema. La Piscine, … Continue reading
It’s interesting that two of the most talked about films of 2013 – Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers – share a lot of the same themes; youthful hedonistic excess, the need for instant gratification, a sense of disassociated responsibility and a detachment from reality. And of course, crime. Whereas Coppola’s … Continue reading
There are certain things which have changed as the internet has grown. Social media platforms have altered the way people perceive others and portray themselves. News is now delivered through online word-of-mouth. Selfies, blogs and personal profiles have generated the generation of the ego. And porn has changed too. Porn has of course always been … Continue reading
Eyes Wide Shut received a lot of attention upon its release. Kubrick’s bizarre sex odyssey was separated from the rest of his filmography by a 12 year gap – the director hadn’t made a movie since Full Metal Jacket in 1987, and critics were keen to see what had brought the reclusive Kubrick out of hibernation. This focus was further … Continue reading
