Punch-Drunk Love – 2002

Paul Thomas Anderson is a gifted director and has made some great films in his career so far, from Boogie Nights to Inherent Vice he is a master of the human condition. Punch-Drunk Love is a love story, and probably one of the best. There is a lot about this film that earns my appreciation, […]

Ace in the Hole – 1951

Kirk Douglas offers up one of his best, and darkest, performances as Chuck Tatum, a newspaper man with big aspirations for his small town newspaper. Things take a positive turn for Chuck when he stumbles upon a man trapped in a cave. Chuck uses his knowledge of the newspaper business to forestall the man’s rescue […]

The Spy who Came in From the Cold – 1965

John le Carré is the master of the spy thriller and as with his later novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy he created a masterpiece of suspense with this Cold War thriller. Set during the height of the red scare, this film masterfully turns paranoia into fear and back again. Featuring the remarkably talented Richard Burton […]

I Married a Witch – 1942

Veronica Lake is an iconic actress who peaked pretty early and never quite lived up to her own legend. Her most well-known role may have been Sullivan’s Travels, but here in I Married a Witch she shines as Jennifer, a witch returned from the grave intent on ruining the life of her accuser’s descendant. The […]

Shock Corridor – 1963

Mental illness has always been a hot-button issue in the film industry and films about the insane have the potential to be great or to be highly insensitive. Samuel Fuller sought to make a film that would shine a light on the treatment and the state of the mentally ill. Shock Corridor focuses on a […]

M – 1931

The hunt is on. A child murderer is on the loose and it falls to the criminals of the city to trap the killer. This film starts like a public service announcement, but it slowly builds until it is a thriller about a killer trying to avoid capture. Peter Lorre plays the killer whose attempted […]