Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on April 2, 2011

The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston, 1975) Entering in a John Huston film is always a challenge for because I tend to not like his films very much: The Maltese Falcon was ok but take Bogart apart and it's never the same movie. The Asphalt Jungle is in...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on April 1, 2011

Son of the painter Auguste, Jean Renoir has brought to Cinema a unique realist touch with his many remarquable feature films. My Life and My Films is an unpretentious autobiography that Renoir dedicated to the French New Wave directors. His passion of his Art is palpable and he recalls his...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 31, 2011

John FORD The ultimate American director of all time. His realism and his understanding of the American pathos and how its society must relies on true hearted values made this grit character a really sentimental man below his common man peel. Like Orson Welles once said, John Ford is the...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 30, 2011

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009) Heath Ledger's final film! Alright, now that I have stated what has to be stated I'll be able to speak (read write) freely about this one of a kind movie. As a fan of Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 29, 2011

Allemagne année 90 (Jean-Luc Godard, 1991) A title linking back to Roberto Rossellini's masterpiece: Germany Year Zero and the return of Eddie Constantine as the famous Lemmy Caution already used by Godard himself in his Alphaville, Allemagne année 90 promises a lot to the cinephiles of these r   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 16, 2011

The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940) Of the many John Ford films reviewed here, The Long Voyage Home is probably the most underrated so far. This masterpiece from Ford's most prolific period (The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, How Green Was My Valley)...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 14, 2011

The Host (Joon-Ho Bong, 2006) The good old Asian monster flick genre has been on hold since the Japanese decided to stop making Godzilla features. Well, the whole King Kong concept has been exploited since the beginnings of the special effects in Cinema. Gigantism is a very Japanese and especial   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 12, 2011

This Is Orson Welles Of the many great directors of the History of Cinema few had the mythic persona that Orson Welles had. With a background in theater and radio, Welles came to the seventh art with all his innocence and pretentiousness. But like his Cinematographer on Citizen Kane, the...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 2, 2011

Top 10 of 2010 With a three delay I've decided to publish this work in progress of last year. Even if I haven't seen that many films of 2010 amongst the 221 films I watched this year, I put down the top of the best films of the year. The...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on March 1, 2011

Cassandra's Dream (Woody Allen, 2007) From Woody Allen, a monument in the history of filmmaking with 46 moving pictures credited to his IMDb resume, Cassandra's Dream is in the continuity of his 'th youth of Match Point more than of his trademark comedies. To many cinephiles, Allen's comedies are   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 27, 2011

Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005) This indie film about a teenager who lost the girl he loves to her tragic death reminds us of the best film noirs of the 1940's. Everything sounds like the film noir genre: the use of low camera angles, the twisted plot, the stereotyped characters and...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 26, 2011

The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961) This picture is famous mostly for Paul Newman's strong lead as the talented billiard player: Fast Eddie. He'll try to make a fortune by being a real winner with a real life. Piper Laurie as his love interest will play the part of morale that...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 26, 2011

This wonderful book about the most important American filmmakers of the second half of the 20th century is a mandatory reading for every cinephile. Its author, Robert Kolker, dissects the films of Arthur Penn, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, and Robert Altman. His   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 23, 2011

The Naked Jungle (Byron Haskins, 1954) This wonderful adventure movie starring Charlton Heston as Christopher Leiningen, a wealthy self-made man living on his cocoa plantation in Amazonia, diserves much praise than it actually received. Christopher has built his fortune with his own hands and boug   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 19, 2011

The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009) Based on the powerful book by Cormac McCarthy (his only book I've ever read) the same author who has written No Country For Old Men brilliantly adapted to the screen by the Coen Brothers. The Road's story works on two levels primarily: the world we...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 17, 2011

Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995) The films of Jim Jarmusch have this European contemplative quality. They also can be categorized as pretentious, mob mocking, and condescending. Jarmusch often uses cinephilic references to distance the masses or to "cast them out" and contempt the mainstream Cinema. A   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 16, 2011

Boogie Nights (P.T Anderson, 1997) Jean Renoir once said that "everything that is recorded with a microphone and filmed with a camera together is Cinema. There isn't any criteria to dismiss any work of this kind." When I discovered Anderson's There Will Be Blood in theater back in 2007, I...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 13, 2011

Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009) This costume drama/biopic about the poet Jim Keats is well executed and has great performances from the leads and a great directing. The naturally lit interiors and exteriors give a crude but beautiful images to this somptuous film. However, I may just get bored by   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 9, 2011

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) Toy Story 3 is the family movie of the year from Pixar studios aka Disney in 3D and believe me it diserves this subtitle. Being old-fashion in my movie tastes it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a good animation flick. I always liked...   read more

Le Mot du Cinephiliaque Posted by Michael on February 7, 2011

The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko, 2010) This light comedy about a one of a kind family is just so all right! With Annette Benning, Mark Ruffalo and one of my favorite actress out there Julianne Moore. The lesbian couple formed by Benning and Moore has had two children...   read more