Taste of Cinema – Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists

[...] the play The Letter by W. Somerset Maugham and was scripted by Howard E. Koch, famous for his Academy Award winning contributions to Casablanca (1942). The film was previously adapted as The Letter in [...]

[...] in 1956, the Academy turned the honorary award into an award of merit, thus creating the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Though controversial due to its nomination process, the [...]

[...] in film (e.g., Purple Rose of Cairo and Midnight in Paris). Alice was nominated for a 1990 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and was Hurt’s only collaboration with Allen. It is a film worth [...]

[...] before making her first film in 1997. As early as 1998, she was seen as a star thanks to her Academy Award nominated turn in Elizabeth. After that she worked steadily, making several films a year. As [...]

[...] ) and period of time (1930 to mid-1934), film noir was a different matter. These somber films were the products of the aftermath of one world war [...]

[...] Luc Godard, 1965) Alphaville is one of the best known of Jean Luc Godard’s films. It is a film noir made by a Nouvelle Vague master director, set in a sci-fi dystopian background. Lemmy [...]

[...] are many genres of film represented here that exude the hauntingly beautiful aesthetic: film noir, horror, war drama, fantasy, period dramas, science fiction, and suspense. The common [...]

[...] heart. Probably because of its poor reception at the box office, it was not nominated for any Academy Awards. 24. The Evil Dead (1981) dir. Sam Raimi Five students from Michigan State University, Ash [...]

[...] the President’s Men vs Taxi Driver In the bicentennial year, many of the films nominated for Academy Awards showed different sides of America, good and bad and delved into politics once more. Four [...]

[...] , becoming the first Chinese film to be nominated as Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards. 3. Raise the Red Lantern (1991) Set in the 1920’s, a time when the control of China’s land [...]

[...] once again. A favorite time of the year because of upcoming events. March Madness and the Academy Awards are nearly upon us. And it’s all sporty fun, pardon the intended pun. Each year we find [...]

[...] art.” – Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer is one of the most important figures in film history. He created a language unlike anyone before him and made truly transcendent pictures [...]

[...] just as much in control of the “plastic” elements of his pictures as any director in film history. Hitchcock did not use color until Rope in 1948 and would alternate color and black and [...]

[...] the top, often ranking number two behind Citizen Kane). Two years before Orson Welles made film history, Renoir also broke new ground with filming multiple characters in a room, tracking the camera [...]

[...] . 10. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Given the length of his career and knowledge of film history, it is not surprising that Woody Allen has produced a mashup or two…or more. Among the [...]

[...] acclaimed upon it release, eventually earning the international prize at the Cannes Film Festival along with a nomination for the Grand Prize (Palme d’or at the time). It also won the [...]

[...] rape of the last one raises a chaotic attempt of revenge. A competitor of 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Irréversible immediately raised outraging viewers claiming its violence simply [...]

[...] why his delusional wife (Isabelle Adjani, who won the Best Actress award at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival for her insane performance) decided to end what he regarded as a happy marriage. [...]

[...] in 1989 following the dissolution of the Soviet Block. Despite being entered into the Cannes Film Festival (where Janda won best actress) it fell back into obscurity. This is a shame, as [...]

[...] down upon the kids’ encounter with their mothers’ sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). The film features a terrific ensemble cast with terrific chemistry between its actors. Moore’s [...]

[...] thugs’ brothers, who was left behind in the wake of the attack. Like most good westerns, the film features sparse dialogue, with director David Michod filling most of the silence with empty wind and [...]

[...] Palin, which might also explain the lingering Pythonesque humour in this feature) and the film features an all-star British cast including Sean Connery, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Ian Holm, Ralph [...]

[...] as the youngest ever person recognised in that category. However, Menace II Society, the directorial debut of twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes, was an even darker and more downbeat depiction of [...]

[...] such, but rather he wrote the 1996 indie hit Swingers, which he also starred in, making his directorial debut with that same film’s spiritual sequel, Made, in 2001. Regardless, Favreau, whilst a [...]

[...] desperation associated with drug addiction. 17. The Last House on the Left (1972) The directorial debut of horror maestro Wes Craven remains one of his most shocking films to date. The plot [...]

[...] shining lights into dark corners that would prefer to stay dark. With this as his directorial debut, Ben Affleck is not afraid to show the uglier aspects of his beloved home town of [...]

[...] heights of their demimonde only to deteriorate into their own personal hells. The genre of gangster films either emphasize the audience’s desire for the hero to escape punishment or to get the [...]

[...] deal with the family, Refn’s leitmotif (and such a theme is almost always portrayed in gangster films), especially in the last two. In the second this is between Tonny and his father ( [...]

[...] (1930-32) Directed by Howard Hawks These three films are the holy trinity of 1930s gangster films, but many overlook the fact that these films raise issues about American society that [...]

[...] Thieves’ Highway (1949); and lastly director Raoul Walsh, who’s more famous for his gangster films than his noirs. George Raft’s career started to decline after this film mainly due to [...]