notesonfilm1

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Eavesdropping at the Movies: 435 – Nosferatu (2024)

Writer-director Robert Eggers, whose reputation for aesthetically rich, deeply-researched and idiosyncratic horror precedes him, has long been working on a remake of F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, the 1922 German Expressionist classic whose influence has been felt in the horror genre for a century. It’s a big fish to try to take down, but it’s source material that feels like it exists especially for…

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Eavesdropping at the Movies: 434 – Conclave

You wait for ages for a film about a group of people sequestered in a room, questioning each other, keeping secrets, and repeatedly voting, and two come along at once. But while Juror #2‘s protagonist wrestled with his conscience, Conclave‘s Cardinal Lawrence, played by Ralph Fiennes, has little trouble consistently acting out of principle – sadly, many of his colleagues vying for the Catholic…

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José Arroyo In Conversation With Fiona Cox On Wicked (Jon M. Chu, 2024)

Fiona Cox, PhD in Film Studies by day, and, under the name of Kitty Mazinksy, chanteuse extraordinaire by night, is the ideal person to talk to about WICKED (Jon M. Chu, 2024). She’s read the book, seen the musical four times and has even performed in it. She now talks to me about musicals, the politics of the film, the dancing, the singing, the numbers, the length. Are critics right about tonal…

[notesonfilm1]

Eavesdropping at the Movies: 433 – Juror #2

A film whose brilliant conceit is so simple and compelling we can’t believe we’ve never seen it before, Juror #2 tells the story of a juror whose responsibility it is to assess the guilt of a defendant who he knows is innocent of murder – because it was the juror who did it. Summoned to serve on a jury and quickly recognising the details of the case, Nicholas Hoult’s Justin quickly realises that…

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POFCRIT PODCAST 2024: Dylan Day on Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)

Adapted from the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting is as whimsical as it is putrid. One of the most iconic and provocative films of the 1990s, it serves to examine the life of heroin addict Mark Renton and his addict friends as they endlessly search for the next hit. With an unrivalled energy and an unforgettable soundtrack, we seek to dig deeper into this film’s messages…

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Thinking Aloud About Film: Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006)

Richard and I return to discuss VOLVER (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006), interesting to see always but particularly for Richard now having seen WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS (1984) and his earlier films, which he hadn’t seen before, and thus more fully appreciating one of the ‘returns’ in VOVER, that of Carmen Maura. We discuss the recurring motifs: Strong women, dreadful men, female solidarity, rape,…

[notesonfilm1]

Eavesdropping at the Movies: 432 – Heretic

Hugh Grant brings his idiosyncratic brand of English charm to the world of horror in Heretic, in which he isolates and tests the faith of two young Mormon missionaries. It’s a film that leaves you asking all sorts of questions, such as, “did anything he was up to actually make any sense?”, but for a horror film so heavy on the dialogue and relatively light on the scares, it’s fabulously…

[notesonfilm1]

WALDO (Charlie Arnaiz, Alberto Ortega)

Waldo de los Rios was an Argentinian musician and arranger who moved to Spain in 1962, became a key figure in Hispanovox, arguably the most popular and influential record company in Spain, and gained wealth and renown for his recordings of ‘Ode to Joy’ and other classical standards, some of which went to top the charts in countries around the world. In 1977, rich, married to Isabel Pisano, a…

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Eavesdropping at the Movies: 431 – Venom: The Last Dance

We enjoyed the first. We didn’t care for the second. Does the third bring back the fun? No, not really. Listen on the players below, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or YouTube Music.Listen on the players above, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or YouTube Music. With José Arroyo of First Impressions and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.  

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DES TEUFELS BAD/ EL BAŃO DEL DIABLO/ THE DEVIL’S BATH (Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala)

I saw DES TEUFELS BAD/ EL BAŃO DEL DIABLO/ THE DEVIL’S BATH (Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala) at the beautiful Albeniz Cinema in Malaga and hated every moment whilst viewing it. But it’s one of those films that’s stayed with me and that gets better and better the more one thinks about it. The film starts with a mother throwing a baby down a waterfall. It then follows a young woman (Anja Plaschg)…

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POFCRIT PODCAST 2024: Madeleine Lear on One Hour Photo (Mark Romanek, 2002)

Starring Robin Williams in one of his most unsettling roles as Sy, the photo guy. One Hour Photo follows Sy, a photo technician, as he forms an obsession with the Yorkin family before taking it upon himself to avenge his shattered fantasy and lost childhood innocence. In the accompanying podcast, Madeleine West shows how Romanek skillfully extends this film’s sense of unease into its…

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Eavesdropping at the Movies: 430 – Gladiator II

Ridley Scott returns to Gladiator after more than twenty years, telling a story that’s broadly the same, but neatly picks up from the original too. Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal in the central role, and we discuss whether he has the movie star charisma to match his indie film credentials; we also talk action, visual effects, Denzel Washington’s Iago figure, the trope of the gay villain, and…

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POFCRIT Podcast 2024: James Thompson on Under The Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018)

James Thompson on UNDER THE SILVER LAKE: Unpacking the mysteries of this dream-like neo-noir, the podcast takes a look at the film’s many potential meanings and messages, as well as its wide array of influences and homages from classical Hollywood. From subliminal messages in the media, to mythical murderers, to secret underground bunkers or to cults of the ultra-rich, this episode explores all…

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The Gus VAn SAnt Podcast No. 6 :Michael J. Glass on Good Will Hunting (1997)

Michael J. Glass joins me for a discussion of Gus Van Sant’s GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997), a blockbuster success in its day; a film that won Robin Williams an Oscar, made stars of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and left a big cultural imprint. It’s since been much parodied (in COMMUNITY, THE SIMPSONS, all over youtube) and a dominant critical perspective is slightly sniffy on the film: filmmaking by…

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Some observations on The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinemman, 1973)

I don’t remember hearing of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL(Fred Zinemman, 1973) spoken of in relation to gay representation but here is the sauna pick-up scene, repeated in the current tv version to close the latest episode, but here filmed more discreetly so that viewers who don’t want to know don’t need to notice. The use of real locations is also an enormous pleasure. See below the British Library at…

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POFCRIT PODCAST 2024: Jake Diamond on I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence, 2007)

In this podcast we will discuss the often-overlooked 2007 adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. Following Will Smith’s rendition of Dr Robert Neville, a virologist and last man on earth, it focuses on the psychological deterioration and complex need for coping mechanisms one would face when confronted with complete existentialism. We will discuss the difficulties of adaptation and where…

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POFCRIT PODCAST 2024: Lily Stripe on Blue Lagoon (Randal Klaiser, 1980)

In this podcast we discuss the 1980 Randal Kleiser film, The Blue Lagoon. It tells a coming-of-age story of two children shipwrecked on a tropical island, as they grow and develop into teenagers, and discover both themselves and the island. With beautiful sweeping landscapes and gorgeous young stars, it has all the attractions of a Hollywood film. However, its narrative is even more intriguing,…