CQ (2001)
CQ (2001) Director/Screenwriter: Roman Coppola By Roderick Heath Damn Francis Ford Coppola and his talented family! Even if, Nicholas Cage excluded (sometimes), they’re entirely preferable behind the camera to in front of it, they’ve still managed to brew many a sour grape into critical wine. Daughter Sofia, of course, survived being skinned alive a trifle excessively for her acting in The Godfather Part III (1990) to become, to my mind, the most interesting American director under 40 today. Her older brother Roman came into

Skhizein (2008)
Skhizein (2008) Director/Screenwriter/Animator: Jérémy Clapin By Marilyn Ferdinand To be “beside oneself” is a turn of phrase we’ve all heard or used at one time or another. It usually refers to someone experiencing something very emotionally charged. Of course, the part of that phrase that most people don’t think much about is that the emotion literally drives one out of one’s body. If you’ve ever witnessed a car wreck or been threatened with serious physical harm, as I have, you’ll be able t

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Director: Stanley Kubrick By Roderick Heath Legendary and lauded as most of them have become, few of Stanley Kubrick’s later films landed immediate punches with viewers. 2001: A Space Odyssey took time to find an audience, A Clockwork Orange was so controversial in its time Kubrick removed it from British cinemas, Barry Lyndon remains largely unloved, and The Shining underperformed badly

Amityville 2: The Possession (1982)
Amityville 2: The Possession (1982) Director: Damiano Damiani By Roderick Heath Long my private vote for the best worst film of all time, Amityville 2: The Possession is the sort of film that ought to be utterly humdrum, but proves to be a welter of cinematic putrescence. A sequel to a big hit and a big enough hit itself to justify another sequel (Richard Fleischer’s Amityville 3-D, far better than either precursor), it still managed to be badly acted, tackily directed, photographed with elaborate yet hilariousl

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
The Class of ’84 Blogathon Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) Director/Screenwriter: Michael Radford By Marilyn Ferdinand This entry is part of the Class of ’84 Blogathon being hosted by Joe Valdez at This Distracted Globe. Big Brother is watching you. Whether you’ve ever read a word, or even heard of George Orwell’s seminal dystopian tale 1984