Category: Film

Léon, the Professional {1994}.

Post author By ml22
Post date October 4, 2020
No Comments on Léon, the Professional {1994}.

Léon, the Professional, is a brilliantly twisted and complex film focusing on the relationship between a good-hearted yet ruthless hitman, the young girl who comes under his guidance after her family is massacred, and the sociopathic DEA agent Stansfield, who performed said massacring. A certain houseplant also plays a significant role. Jean Reno and Natalie Portman are both exceptional, and Gary Oldman renders forth a truly iconic performance as the depraved, mercurial, cunning, pill-popping Stansfield. Each character has their own internally consistent moral code. Luc Besson directed this fascinating, haunting, offbeat, darkly comical film.

Tags actors, Directors, film, Films of Note, Gary Oldman, Jean Reno, Luc Besson, Natalie Portman, photography

Actors Actors of Greatness Coen Brothers Directors existentialism Film Javier Bardem photography Producers

No Country for Old Men {2007}.

Post author By ml22
Post date September 21, 2020
No Comments on No Country for Old Men {2007}.

No Country for Old Men, a 2007 existential noir western thriller by Joel and Ethan Coen, examines the dilemma of Llewelyn Moss {Josh Brolin}, who somewhat inadvertently ends up in the crosshairs of, among others, sociopathic assassin/operative Anton Chigurh {Javier Bardem}, a most singular character with a ruthless code and nihilism to spare. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell {Tommy Lee Jones} wants to help Moss, but, though plenty smart and resourceful, he realizes with the likes of Chigurh, whom he wryly and despairingly describes as a ghost, he’s in over his head; he’s dealing with a new kind of human. New, yet as old and implacable as the unforgiving landscape.

It is the uncanny accomplishment of the Coens to have rendered an extraordinarily nuanced environment where everything means something, yet nothing means anything. The interface of chance and inevitability is front and center.

Tags Coen Brothers, Directors, existentialism, Javier Bardem, Noir, photography, thrillers, Tommy Lee Jones, Westerns

Actors cult films Directors Film Horror/Cult Films photography Steven Spielberg

Jaws {1975}.

Directed by a 28 year old Steven Spielberg, Jaws is a gripping, multi-faceted masterwork. This thriller/cult classic features resonant, memorable work by Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss, and a mesmerizing, iconic performance by Robert Shaw. Also involved is a 20+ (25!) foot-long shark. One of the most perfectly realized films of the 20th century.

Tags actors, film, Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Steven Spielberg

Actors Actors of Greatness Fargo Film Film Music performers photography

Fargo {1996}.

The 1996 film Fargo, a Coen Brothers masterwork, presents the story and precipitous moral/psychological decline of Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), the misadventures of the bungling kidnappers (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) whose “help” he enlists, and the dogged attempts of Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) to make sense of it all. Macy’s performance is mind-boggling, Buscemi and Stormare are brilliant, and McDormand carried away an Oscar for her finely-nuanced portrayal. Carter Burwell composed the memorable theme.

Tags 1996, actors, Fargo, film, Film Music, films, Films of Note, Frances McDormand, movies, Steve Buscemi, William H Macy

Actors Actors of Greatness Film Marlon Brando photography Predators Psychopaths serial killers

The Missouri Breaks {1976}.

Post author By ml22
Post date August 12, 2020
No Comments on The Missouri Breaks {1976}.

This offbeat, rather twisted Western presents the intertwined stories of Tom Logan (Jack Nicholson) and his good-hearted, somewhat hapless rustling gang, and Lee Clayton (Marlon Brando), a so-called “regulator” (hired killer) whose job it is to identify and curtail the activities of Logan, et al. As the film progresses, an ever-increasing sense of dread and disquiet permeate the proceedings, as it becomes clearer all the time that the eccentric Clayton is a ruthless, sadistic sociopath, who relishes his deadly machinations and depraved exploits. The bounty hunter’s bewildering array of accents and disguises also merits mentioning.

Arthur Penn directed this cult masterpiece, and allowed the actors, especially Brando, to find their own way with the characters, including improvising much of the dialogue. Idiosyncratically paced, this oddball absurdist comedy/western thriller deconstructs the genre to beautiful effect, and Marlon Brando’s incomprehensibly stunning performance ultimately defines and lifts the film to the very heights.

Tags accents, actors, film, Films of Note, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Nicholson, Lee Clayton, Marlon Brando, photography, Randy Quaid, Sadism, Westerns

Actors Film photography Predators Psychopaths serial killers videos

Martin Vanger, Two Ways {2009, 2011}.

Post author By ml22
Post date July 29, 2020
No Comments on Martin Vanger, Two Ways {2009, 2011}.

The serial predator and killer Martin Vanger appears in both the American and Swedish iterations of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. He is equally disquieting in both. Peter Haber portrays Vanger in the 2009 Swedish release, and Stellan Skarsgård does the honors for the 2011 American film. Both performances are brilliant, and chilling. Haber’s portrayal is more earnest and volatile, while Skarsgård is more haughty, detached. Both work perfectly.

Tags actors, film, Films of Note, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Peter Haber, photography, Predators, serial killers, Stellan Skarsgård, videos

Actors Actors of Greatness cult films Film Film Music photography

The Wicker Man {1973}.

The Wicker Man, an extraordinary, curious, classic cult film, debuted in 1973 and has only gained in popularity since. The movie stars Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Ingrid Pitt, and a host of locals from the small Scottish towns where it was filmed. So many memorable moments.

Tags actors, Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee, cult films, Edward Woodward, films, Films of Note, photography, Wicker Man

Actors Directors Film photography videos

Withnail and I {1987}.

The 1987 film Withnail and I, written and directed by Bruce Robinson, and starring Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, and Richard Griffiths, has come to be recognized as one of the great achievements of British film-making. Originally considered a “cult” movie, this poignant and amazingly humorous film is so very memorable. This happened to be Grant’s first film, as well, putting him firmly on the map of such things.

Tags Bruce Robinson, film, film videos, Paul McGann, photography, Richard E Grant, Richard Griffiths, Withnail and I

Actors of Greatness Auteurs Directors Film Film Music Michael Mann photography Psychopaths serial killers Tom Noonan

Manhunter {1986}, Directed by Michael Mann.

Post author By ml22
Post date April 23, 2020
No Comments on Manhunter {1986}, Directed by Michael Mann.

This Big Hush: Shriekback.

Coelacanth.

The extraordinary film Manhunter, filmed in 1986, features auteur-like vision by director Michael Mann, and memorable performances by Tom Noonan, Brian Cox, and William Petersen. Based on the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, Manhunter possesses an eerie noir-ness, focuses often on the similarities between hunter and hunted, and resonates powerfully to this day.

Tags actors, Brian Cox, Directors, films, Films of Note, Manhunter, Michael Mann, photography, Tom Noonan, William Petersen

composers Film Film Music Music photography Soundtracks

The Soundtracks, and Film Music.

Post author By ml22
Post date April 9, 2020
No Comments on The Soundtracks, and Film Music.

A select gathering of film composers, and their compositions. Bernard Herrmann, Eric Serra, Daniel Licht, David Shire, and Carter Burwell.

Tags Bernard Herrmann, Carter Burwell, composers, Daniel Licht, David Shire, Dexter, Eric Serra, Fargo, film, Film Music, music, photography, Psycho, Soundtracks, The Conversation, The Professional