Princess Mononoke

May 18, 2017

Hayao Miyazaki has always had a strong relationship with nature that he’s portrayed in a number of his films, but nowhere has it grown as dark as it did in his 1997 film Princess Mononoke. While an animated film, the level of violence is very high and the themes are much more adult than his previous films and while he hasn’t returned to such dark films since, it’s clear that this was an important step in his storytelling and how his films look at the relationship between man and nature.

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No

May 11, 2017

Watching how advertising affected the Chilean dictatorship of Pinochet and brought about his downfall in the late 80s in Pablo Larraín’s film No, it’s clear that those behind the ads just might understand our decision-making process better than we do… and it’s downright frightening.

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Post Mortem

May 4, 2017

Pablo Larraín became fascinated by the little people who got wrapped up in big moments in history, by that history as told through those characters’ eyes. Thus, Post Mortem was born.

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Tony Manero

April 27, 2017

Looking at Tony Manero, the first film in what is dubbed as Pablo Larraín’s ‘unintentional trilogy,’ it’s clear that the director is not one to shy away from challenging his audience. But in doing so, is he pushing us away too?

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Certain Women

April 20, 2017

Unfortunately, Certain Women didn’t find its audience and lost money at the box office. But, Reichardt’s proven herself as a filmmaker who knows how to tell intimate character stories and will continue making movies.

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Meek’s Cutoff

April 13, 2017

For her follow-up to Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt chose to make Meek’s Cutoff, a film about a historical journey and the people who suffered through it. But is her minimal filmmaking style effective for a historical drama?

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Wendy and Lucy

April 6, 2017

Kelly Reichardt has been called a minimalist film director, and if you’re comparing her to someone like Michael Bay or Steven Spielberg or the Hughes brothers, that certainly seems to be the case, at least based on her 2008 film Wendy and Lucy.

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The Book of Eli

March 30, 2017

Right from the start, it was clear that Albert and Allen Hughes knew how to put films together. Whether paying homage to filmmakers they admire or playing with their own showy techniques, they know how to play with the visual tools they have available. In their post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli, they make a very compelling film that’s exciting and entertaining while still maintaining the visceral edge they love to employ. But sadly, it’s the last film they worked on together, having since parted ways as filmmakers. Will they reunite down the road? Who knows. Will they increase their output now that they’re working solo? Not so far. Time will tell, but for now, this stands as the final Hughes Brothers film. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we close the chapter on our Hughes Brothers series with their 2010 film The Book of Eli.

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From Hell

March 23, 2017

The Hughes brothers hadn’t really had a big hit by the time they were offered to direct the adaptation of Alan Moore’s and Eddie Campbell’s graphic novel “From Hell,” detailing the characters involved in the ‘Jack the Ripper’ slayings in 1888 London. It offered an opportunity to tell a gritty story that still dealt with the people struggling at the bottom of society, something they’d already proved successful at. But the graphic novel’s incredibly dense and despite the many rewrites the script went through, it still ended up a film that is hard to call a great success for the brothers. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our series on the Hughes brothers with their 2001 film From Hell.

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Menace II Society

March 16, 2017

When 20-year-old twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes directed their first feature film in 1993, Menace II Society, they immediately showed audiences everywhere that they were storytellers who weren’t afraid to tell risky stories and filmmakers who understood the language of the medium. The film seemed dangerous. It was vicious. Gritty. Brutal. And it was authentic, which perhaps is the greatest testament to what these young filmmakers set out to do. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off our Hughes Brothers series with their 1993 debut, Menace II Society.

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