ACT OF VIOLENCE IN A YOUNG JOURNALIST
This beyond-obscure 1988 feature, one of the first to receive a straight-to-video release in its native Uruguay, was given new prominence by the semi-documentary STRAIGHT TO VHS
Fred Ward: 1942-2022
I greatly respect Fred Ward as an actor, but ultimately I like him because, simply, he graced quite a few of my favorite movies
SWEETIE
Those who doubt the truth of Jean-Luc Godard’s claim that Jane Campion “was better when she had no money” need only check out her debut feature SWEETIE
CIMINO: THE DEER HUNTER, HEAVEN’S GATE AND THE PRICE OF A VISION
A frustrating and inconclusive book, although that’s an inevitability give its subject: the notoriously hermetic Michael Cimino
RAMPAGE (1987/92)
From the sometimes-great William Friedkin, a so-so serial killer drama
SENSITIVE SPOTS
A little-known example of Central European science fiction, set in the far-off year 1998
RED DAWN
“Better dead than red” cinema got a memorable 1980s rethink in RED DAWN, a “what-if?” narrative about a Russian invasion of the US
CAT’S EYE
A three-parter from the eighties, scripted by Stephen King, that should be better.
Ivan Reitman: 1946-2022
Say what you will about Ivan Reitman, but he knew how to make movies
ROBOT CARNIVAL
Nothing less than 1980s-era Japan’s answer to FANTASIA