Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 1, 2014

It is this time of the year when we, film lovers, get a little wet and try predicting the winners of the night of the films. Having seen more than the half of the movies nominated I can say that it is an average year and that I'm expecting no...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 27, 2014

12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a New York State-born free negro who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and sold into slavery. He worked on plantations in the state of Louisiana for twelve years before his release. Based on Solomon Northup&#82   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 27, 2014

LMdC’s 10 Most Expected Films of 2014 Well, why not? If this blog is centered on my journey through the 1000 Greatest Films of All Time by They Shoot Pictures only I will turn crazy from imposing to myself only acclaimed and older films than the new titles of each...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 26, 2014

Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2013) Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) discovers he has AIDS in 1985, a disease wrongly known as a consequence of being homosexual. He gets to illegally import drugs to treat his condition and help many other patients having the same disease to attenuate th   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 25, 2014

Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) In a near future, a man has a hard time dealing with his divorce. He is mopey and lonely. He gets an operating system with a female voice and slowly enters in a relationship with her. Theodore Twombly played by Joaquin Phoenix reminds us why he...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 24, 2014

Ace in the Hole aka The Big Carnival (Billy Wilder, 1951) American film noir starring Kirk Douglas as a cynical, disgraced reporter who stops at nothing to try to regain a job on a major newspaper. After having been fired from eleven newspapers, Chuck Tatum (Douglas) is stuck in Albuquerque,   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 21, 2014

Destiny aka Behind the Wall (Fritz Lang, 1921) In the Expressionistic frame story, in which human lives are each represented by a candle, Death grants a woman three chances to save her lover, if love can triumph over death. The three stories within the story each occur in a setting...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 19, 2014

Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) The film is a tribute to the director's parents and is divided into two parts, with the characters and dialogue in the second half essentially the same as the first, but the settings and outcome of the stories different. The first part is   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 17, 2014

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Russ Meyer, 1970) Three young women—Kelly MacNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella "Pet" Danforth (Marcia McBroom)—perform in a rock band, The Kelly Affair, managed by Harris Allsworth (David Gurian), Kelly's boyfriend. The   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 14, 2014

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972) This film has an all-female cast and is set in the home of the protagonist, Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen). It follows the changing dynamics in her relationships with the other women. Written and directed by the Enfant te   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 12, 2014

The Docks of New York (Josef von Sternberg, 1928) The story involves an incredibly strong ship stoker named Bill (George Bancroft) and the beautiful prostitute named Mae (Betty Compson), whom he saves from drowning. She was attempting suicide as she had no money, almost no clothes and felt remors   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 10, 2014

J’ai mon voyage! (Denis Héroux, 1973) Jean-Louis Cartier (Jean Lefebvre) from France decides to quit Quebec City to go live in Vancouver with a fifth wheel. The Cartier family of Danielle (Dominique Michel), François (René Simard) , and Luc (Régis Simard) embark on a road trip that will tak   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 7, 2014

The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953) Homicide detective Sergeant Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is an honest cop who investigates the death of fellow officer Tom Duncan. It would seem to be an open-and-shut case, suicide brought on by ill health. Bannion, however, is contacted by the late cop's mistress, L   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 5, 2014

The Fortune Cookie (Billy Wilder, 1966) CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) gets injured when football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) runs into him while he is covering a Browns game at Cleveland Stadium. Harry's injuries are minor, but his conniving lawyer brother-in-law Willi   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 4, 2014

Last year when I made my resolutions for 2013 I pretty much made a list of films that were films I wanted to watch in priority and some blindspot directors. Just look at my original post here. During the year, I modified those goals and I got circling around the...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 3, 2014

Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) It is a film in two segments – the first part a romance between two men, and the second a mysterious tale about a soldier lost in the woods, bedeviled by the spirit of a shaman. The fourth feature film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on January 31, 2014

An Actor’s Revenge aka Revenge of a Kabuki Actor (Kon Ichikawa, 1963) Three men, Sansai Dobe (Ganjirō Nakamura), Kawaguchiya (Saburō Date) and Hiromiya (Eijirō Yanagi) are responsible for the deaths of seven-year-old Yukitarō’s mother and father. Yukitarō is adopted and brought up by   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on January 30, 2014

Life Itself (Steve James, 2014) Based on Roger Ebert’s memoirs, Life Itself, this documentary was directed by Steve James, who directed Ebert’s favorite film of the 1990’s Hoop Dreams, is a naked portrayal of the film critic, the man, and the life of the most popular film critic   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on January 29, 2014

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) The film centers on the last days in the life of its title character; Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar). Together with his loved ones – including the spirit of his dead wife (Natthakarn Aphaiwong) and his lost so   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on January 27, 2014

Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami, 1994) It is the final part of Abbas Kiarostami's Koker trilogy, and the plot revolves around the production of the second episode, Life, and Nothing More..., which itself was a revisitation of the first film, Where Is the Friend's Home?. Centered on   read more