Monthly Archives: January, 2012

" Robot and Frank, the feature debut of director Jake Schrier, sounds like it has the potential to land in independent cinema quirk hell, but surprisingly manages to hit all the right notes with its quiet arc. While it’s mostly a comedy featuring light dramatic streaks and science-fiction buttressing, at its core it features a much more melancholy tone, only furthered by an excellent turn from Frank Langella."

Winner of the 1982 Palme d'Or by proxy for Yol (he was imprisoned during production and gave detailed directions to Şerif Gören, the 'official' director, on how to make the film), Güney is the most influential Turkish filmmaker in the country's history, and, frankly, still probably the greatest of them all (Ceylan may well surpass him, though, especially if he makes any more films on the plane as Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, but that's a debate for another time and place).

1954’s Godzilla is the paterfamilias of the giant monster from the sea concept, spawning a half century’s worth of remakes, reboots and rip-offs. Directed...

"While often derided as imitative of such American-made creature features as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Them - an odd criticism since all of these films were actually made at about the same time - Godzilla upped the ante by cashing in not only on a nation’s primal fears, but its recent experience with mysterious forces of mass destruction."

Analogous.