The Fisher King – 1991

Mental illness is challenging to portray on film. It is often seen as insensitive to have someone who isn’t mentally ill portray a severe mental illness, but the severely mentally ill usually aren’t in a position to appear on screen in that capacity. This means that it falls to truly talented actors to take up […]

Casablanca – 1942

There is no debating that Casablanca is one of the greatest films of all time. There is a reason it is considered one of the most well-received films. The simplicity of the scenery, the timeless message of love and sacrifice, the casual connective tissue between the characters. The film expresses sentiment in a way that […]

Manchester by the Sea – 2016

Pain is real. Acting isn’t. It takes a truly gifted actor to make an audience believe that the agony on the screen is real. Casey Affleck has never been on the radar as an extraordinary actor, but I am happy to be proven wrong. He pours his life force into this role and it shows […]

Frances Ha – 2012

There are some movies that are just awkward. It doesn’t prevent them from being good, it just makes them a little harder to watch. Frances Ha is one of those movies. Greta Gerwig gives a powerful performance as the perpetually struggling Frances and Noah Baumbach never feels like he’s at a loss in directing her […]

Babe – 1995

Talking animal movies are not my favorite, but in certain cases I make an exception. Babe is an exception. There is a childlike innocence to the film and it can work its wonder on young and old alike. The beauty of the film comes from its innocence. The pig is every child who ever felt […]

Subgenre: Survival Film

Survival For the second time in less than a year, I am preparing my house for a hurricane. The lengths to which I am going to ensure my house survives makes me think about films in which people have gone up against impossible odds, only to survive circumstances far more severe than mine. So, with […]