Who knew Greeks can make great cinema? A country famous for its extra virgin olive oil export and hardly any traditions or structure for filmmaking, stunned audiences around the globe with the art-house sensation Dogtooth. Giorgos (Yorgos) Lanthimos’ equally disturbing and comical crafty feature swept the Prix Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes in […]
If you haven’t read Part I of this over-written countdown, you should go do that now (I worked hard on these!). I’ll wait…. … … … … … Are you back? Okay, here’s Part II. It’s got two relatively small films, two massive world-wide blockbusters, and one new release featuring the breakout star of the […]
While American politicians abjectly deride the Scandinavians for being ‘pinko commies’, Hollywood has been taking notice of their considerable cinematic talent, finding every opportunity to import some of their best films for American remakes. David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Matt Reeves’ Let Me In are excellent examples, but no Scandinavian film […]
Here’s a well-known traditional Japanese proverb: “the world sucks”. Filled with deception, greed, and amoral opportunism, honesty and trust have become nothing more than archaic misnomers and fantastical abstractions for naïve dreamers and gullible idealists. As such, there are people out there who see life as nothing more than a game, and when that game […]