Blogcritics

These Films Sleep Well: The Auteurs Website and Riviera (2005, Villaceque)

Joshua Wiebe — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:35:33 EST

The new Auteurs website is tested with the little known French drama, Riviera.
The local cinematheque is, to some, a church. Through the heavy glass doors, past the volunteer ticket takers and the small independently run concession stand, down the narrow corridor lined with crumpled waste and popcorn kernels, is an altar, so to speak, a place of worship where one can find their fill of artistic oddities and classical...

These Films Sleep Well: Crash (1996, David Cronenberg)

Joshua Wiebe — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 08:56:05 EST

Cronenberg's darkly sexual psychodrama, Crash, summarized.
Charged does not begin to describe the sexuality rampant in David Cronenberg's 1997 Crash, not to be confused with Paul Haggis' Oscar winning atrocity. A psychodrama determined to mine the bizarre sexual tendencies and amorous confusion of a half dozen characters, Crash is one of Cronenberg's most accomplished productions, certainly the...

These Films Sleep Well: Spare Parts (2003, Damjan Kozole)

Joshua Wiebe — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:08:04 EDT

Spare Parts is an excellent bare-bones exploration of the darker side of the human psyche.
Warranting the dubious honor of becoming Joshua Wiebe's favorite Slovenian film of all time is not a particularly daunting task. I am largely ignorant of Slovenian cinema -- the sum of my Slovenian film-going experience stands at two: Bostjan Hladnik's superb and artfully presented Dance in the Rain, and Spare Parts, the film I seek to...

These Films Sleep Well: The Happening (2008, M. Night Shyamalan)

Joshua Wiebe — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:35:17 EDT

In defense of The Happening.
Note: I've sort of changed my mission statement with regards to this series, whereas I initially set out to write a definitive list of misplaced and disregarded films, I now am reacting to whatever films I deem to be suffering critical injustices. I'm also ignoring the cap of seventeen I placed on this list as I have a list of about forty...

These Films Sleep Well: Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier (1959, Jean Renoir)

Joshua Wiebe — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:42:20 EDT

One of Renoir's lesser known works examined.
When the average cinephile thinks of Jean Renoir, several films come to mind. La Grande Illusion, The River, Le Bete Humaine, and The Rules of the Game, all rightfully considered masterpieces, have prevented the intrusion of other lesser-known Renoir films upon his canon. Films such as Whirlpool of Fate, La Marseillaise, The Little Matchstick...

These Films Sleep Well: The Rest of the Thin Man Series (1936-1947, W.S. Dyke)

Joshua Wiebe — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:04:11 EDT

The Thin Man sequels examined.
Last Friday, I had a friend over to celebrate the twenty-third anniversary of Orson Welles' death, and, like always, we began to discuss movies, in particular the order of my collection. I explained it to him in as simple terms as I know how (chronological but grouped sporadically by director, writer or series) and used the Thin Man series as...

These Films Sleep Well: Ghostbusters II (1989, Ivan Reitman)

Joshua Wiebe — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:57:26 EDT

Ghostbusters II is back, and deserves some recognition.
Ghostbusters is, rightfully, an acknowledged comedic masterpiece, yet its sequel is maligned and generally regarded as inferior in every way. It is the purpose of this piece to illustrate exactly why Ghostbusters II is, while not a better movie, certainly a formidable one. The most important difference is that II is no longer concerned with...

These Films Sleep Well: Five Minutes, Mr. Welles (2004, Vincent D'Onofrio)

Joshua Wiebe — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:53:40 EDT

Vincent D'Onofrio's short film, Five Minutes Mr. Welles, is analyzed.
There are two films that act as necessary viewing in order to understand and appreciate the various nuances of Vincent D'Onofrio's directorial debut, the 2005 short film Five Minutes, Mr. Welles. The first is Tim Burton's tribute to a cult filmmaker and cross-dresser, Ed Wood, and the second is Carol Reed's brilliant UK noir...

These Films Sleep Well: I Live In Fear (1955, Akira Kurosawa)

Joshua Wiebe — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 10:06:53 EDT

Kurosawa documents a man's, and society's, descent into madness. I Live In Fear remains another of his forgotten masterpieces.
From 1959's Alain Resnais film, Hiroshima, Mon Amour, through to the 1988 Japanese full-length animation by Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been depicted on celluloid many times and in many different lights but never with so much restless energy, nor the aftermath dealt with so succinctly as...

These Films Sleep Well: Day of the Dead (1985, George A. Romero)

Joshua Wiebe — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 14:19:51 EDT

While Dawn and Night are respected masterpieces, it's time Day gets the respect it deserves.
Note: In the following review and in subsequent comments or emails I will not acknowledge existence of any and all Day of the Dead spin-offs or follow-ups not involving the director of the original. Talk to any self respecting zombie film fanatic -- and boy, are there a ton of them -- and you'll generally hear one of two things. The first:...