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10 Almost-Great Screenplays
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. An almost-great screenplay can be more frustrating than a really bad one. The potential is strong and the execution is almost there, but something went wrong at the final hurdle. Of course, it’s easy to pick out flaws in retrospect or to credit (or blame) the writer for something that wasn’t their idea. So many things can go wrong on a script’s journey to the screen that it can feel like a miracle there are any almost-great films in the first place. The problem is, as author and screenwriter William Goldman famously said: “Nobody knows anything…… Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.” With all that in mind, and judging from what made it into the finished films, for this list we focus on 10 almost-great screenplays, what flaws each script has and how, with a few tweaks, they could have been great. -
10 Classic Films That Are Ideologically Inacceptable Today
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. The history of film is the history of mankind from 1895 to the present day. Cinema has documented everything from the palpable and the general (conflicts, geo-political changes, significant events, remarkable destinies) to the impalpable and the intimate (thinking movements, behavioral adjustments, deaths, rebirths and emergences of values). More deeply than finance, more covertly than artistry, it is ideology that was, is and will always be the backbone of cinema. Therefore, it is only natural that films would form an extraordinarily accurate map of the changes that occurred in their makers’ and their audiences’ mentalities. The 20th century has been a period of intense questioning, during which practical philosophies have dislodged one another with stunning rapidity. Here are ten films that illustrate how greatly morals have shifted during this brief lapse of time that is called contemporary period. -
10 Creepiest, Yuckiest, Ickiest Bug Horror Movies
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. Horror movies have a wide, potentially endless range of things that can be manipulated and shaped into terrifying objects, threats, and nightmares. Something that requires very little work on the part of a film/filmmaker to make creepy and disturbing, though, is our innate fear and disgust of bugs. It’s an easy jump from seeing them onscreen to imagining them crawling all over our skin, and horror movies know it. For our look at the ten best examples of bug horror on the big screen, we decided on a single rule: we’re ignoring the fact that spiders aren’t actually bugs. I know, we’re terrible. It’s not like we went nuts with it, though, as spiders only headline two of the ten films. Three feature ants, three are about roaches, one squirts worms in your eyes, and one of them stars carnivorous slugs. Which reminds me, neither worms nor slugs are bugs either. Anyway… for the duration of this post, let’s just remember that spiders — and worms and slugs — are “bugs.” Now please join me and the crew (Chris Coffel, Valerie Ettenhofer, Kieran Fisher, Brad Gullickson, Meg Shields, Anna Swanson, Jacob Trussell) as we point our magnifying glass towards ten of the best bug horror movies! -
10 Famous Films That Are Secretly About Movie-Making
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Over the years, there have been many films – both documentaries and works of fiction – focussed on the art of filmmaking itself. On the fictional side of things, films like 8½, Ed Wood, Bowfinger, Be Kind Rewind and The Disaster Artist are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to movies that are themselves actually about making movies. But not every flick that touches on the craft behind the moving pictures trade is as explicit as the above examples. On the contrary, sometimes, the filmmakers involved express their commentary on the movie-making game through symbolism, relying on the film’s underlying themes to convey their message, instead. With this in mind, we’ve pulled together this list of 10 movies that – believe it or not – are secretly about movie-making. -
10 Great Anti-Detective Films For The Post-Truth Era
Favs/dislikes: 4:0. There is a moral in detective fiction perhaps put best by a slogan of The X-Files, a science fictional inheritor of the genre: The Truth is out there. More than the conviction of evidence for extraterrestrial life this is in the context of the show, this phrase also speaks to a belief in objective truth, and the knowability of this truth essential to the entire detective genre, to the implication of forces which conceal it, and the moral imperative of its pursuit. This is the project of the detective, a knight errant of the modern world who seeks the hidden coherency of truth from out of a web of disparate and often contradictory clues and in finding it, restores some justice, order, or at least sense to the world. Of course the genre’s moral core is often offset by its characteristic cynicism, where truth alone unbiased and pure may well be the only moral good. Where the hero is often positioned outside any law, private, unincorporated, as comfortable in the world of criminality as order, never above snooping, lying, breaking and entering, aiding or abetting in order to make a case, and devoted even to truth by profession alone, driven as much by mercenary selfishness as any moral force. Where the detective is just as often frustrated in their quest, if not by the all pervasive corruption of the law and its society of cheats, as in the ending of Polanski’s Chinatown, then by the ultimate inaccessibility of the facts. But even when frustrated, the detective still traditionally secures us within a world where truth exists as something objective and knowable and where there are those capable of and committed to its pursuit. But what happens when the detective enters a strange abstracting space where truth is no longer knowable or based on objective grounds, where contradictory truths seem to coexist, where paranoid fantasy replaces intuition, and the process of detection itself becomes suspect? These are the questions asked by a countercurrent of anti-detective films emerging in the 1960’s and 70’s art cinemas – striking a new resonance, and re-emerging in our current era of ‘post-truth’ – which in one way or another deconstruct the assumptions on which the genre is founded from the perspectives of a new skeptical relativism, not only as genre critique, but also as a repurposing of this now disemboweled form to new and creative ends. Through it all the detective persists, stubborn holdovers as they are from a world where truth was absolute. There is another slogan in The X-Files: I want to believe. Here is a list of ten anti-detective films to put Philip Marlowe on his ass. -
10 great body horror films
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. “The term ‘biological horror,’” David Cronenberg once said, “really refers to the fact that my films are very body-conscious. They’re very conscious of physical existence as a living organism, rather than other horror films or science-fiction films which are very technologically oriented, or concerned with the supernatural, and in that sense are very disembodied.” As the Canadian maestro returns to the big screen with Crimes of the Future (2022), a film pitched in the press – if not by its director, who has long shied away from applying the term to his own work – as a return to the realms of ‘body’ or ‘biological’ horror, we’re taking a look back at some great films that deal in the treacheries of the flesh. Referring to a distinct subgenre in horror cinema that variously trades in aberration, mutation, transformation and a loss of conscious control over the human body – often accompanied by generous volumes of squicky corporeal trauma – body horror usually requires a certain level of tolerance for on-screen yucks. The genesis of the term itself can be traced back to a 1983 essay by the Australian academic Philip Brophy – who would go on to practise what he preached by directing the 1993 feature Body Melt – but its conceptual tropes stretch all the way back into the realms of gothic literature. While biological horror movies offer boundless opportunities for the greatest FX artists in the business to let their imaginations run wild, the subgenre has long proved fertile ground for its political potential, where questions of bodily integrity and autonomy are inherently foregrounded. Here are 10 greats that you might not want to watch on a full stomach. -
10 Great Cult Movies That Are Actually About Cults
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. At the root of the horror genre lies a proclivity towards hyperbole in manifesting our fear of the unknown. For writers like David Cronenberg, domestic dramas about custody battles and marital unrest are simply too inexpressive to represent the dismal reality of dissolving the family unit or falling out of love. Such emotions, instead, deserve to be treated with shocking visuals depicting bodily decay and irreparable mental defilement centered around the exploitation of an unfamiliar – or monstrous – physicality. These allegorical fables are the filmic equivalent to poetry in their ability to communicate complex feelings despite the severe limitations of their medium. There are a number of criteria a horror movie can meet to attain “cult” status, and the devisiveness of such multifaceted plots as Cronenberg’s often propels movies initially panned to warrant induction into the cult canon. Many critics were slow to accept the filmography of David Lynch on the basis of his films’ overwhelming nonsensicality before rediagnosing his abstract thinking as a commendable stab at articulating the unconscious. In the tradition of John Waters and Kenneth Anger, the label “cult” also proves synonymous with “taboo,” as the subjects of these filmmakers’ work dispute the notion of film’s compatibility with television’s ratings-conscious, family-minded hospitality. But one subject that’s often overlooked in the culture of cult horror, ironically, is religious deviance – or cults. With the exception of Rosemary’s Baby and his Satanic offspring, the horrific glimpse into oppressive theological environs and its resulting disparity in spirituality are rarely considered when taking stock of the pulpy subculture, as the sensational subject matter can easily be read as superficial biography of the nonsecularly-ensnared. As an exercise in analyzing the inherent terror in novel self-doubt, the following ten movies exemplify the secretion of alternative theologies as the mental virus propelling their hosts towards self-destruction. -
10 Great Documentaries That Challenge the Conventions of the Genre
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. A documentary film is predisposed toward exposition. Whether shedding light on an artifact of popular culture or something more esoteric, the intention is nonetheless to share a slice of life that is assumed to be outside the bounds of common knowledge. By focusing on a subject outside the limelight, a documentary seeks to inform, enrich, and expand the perspective of its audience. However, certain films achieve these aims with such brilliance as to broaden the definition of documentary filmmaking. This type of film may challenge the conventions of narrative, create a new style, develop new techniques, blur the boundaries between fiction and the real, or some combination of these innovations. Sometimes the break with tradition is quite radical, as was case with the multiverse of perspectives in William Greaves’ Symbiopsychotaxiplasm. In others, the break may be subtle, as demonstrated by Errol Morris’ befuddling ode to mortality, Gates of Heaven. By challenging the conventions of their medium, the films in this list made an indelible impression on the history of documentary filmmaking. -
10 great films about life in the digital age
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. Remember when it took ages to dial up and go online in the early days of the digital age? Hollywood’s relationship with the internet evolved at a similar pace, with stories that struggled to connect our everyday experiences online with narratives that actually made sense. Because of this lag, there have been plenty of films that failed to represent the internet accurately without already feeling dated by the time that they hit our screens. Even as far back as 1999, our online experiences were already about so much more than just the sprawling green code seen in The Matrix, and since then countless techno-thrillers have shown hackers somehow infiltrating top-tier government systems in the blink of an eye. However, there are some directors out there who have managed to cut through the clichés to better represent what life is really like now we live so much of it online. With the internet now 30 years old, here are 10 powerful time capsules charting our digital evolution. -
10 great films about making a fresh start
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. Each new year comes with tantalising scope for self reinvention. The turn of the calendar presents an illusory milestone that lures many of us into hoping we can somehow force a step-change in our character or situation that will bring us closer to being the person we really want to be. Yet, however big or small the resolutions we make for ourselves, the change is fraught with the pitfalls of simply relaxing back into the person it’s always been easy to be – with the same shortcomings and neuroses. In films, turning over a new leaf comes so much easier. All the same pitfalls and setbacks are there, of course, but the arc of a satisfying story depends on forward movement and the sense that the characters are ending in a different place from where they began. Hopes can and will be fulfilled. In Eric Rohmer’s spellbinding 1986 film The Green Ray, change comes not in January but at the height of summer. Parisian secretary Delphine (Marie Rivière) has been dumped by her boyfriend just prior to holiday season. Her plans abandoned, she flits from one destination to another, joining friends, striking off on her own – but it seems there’s nothing anyone can do to awaken her from her sadness and sense of isolation. It’s easy to take against Delphine. She’s self-absorbed and prickly to engage with – refusing to do much to help her situation. But therein lies the truthfulness of her character. Despondency makes a mountain of starting over and pulling your own socks up. Yet, while completely naturalistic in its 16mm filming and improvised acting, there’s a sublime, almost mystical feel to Rohmer’s film. It’s something about the wind in the trees, and the playing cards that Delphine finds from time to time abandoned in the street. And hope will come in the strangest place: in an overheard conversation about an optical illusion (the ‘green ray’ of the title) which – on rare occasions – can be glimpsed as the sun sets over the sea. When, like Rohmer’s heroine, you need inspiration for taking a new step, these 10 films offer 10 possible paths to fresh horizons. -
10 great films about recluses
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. From the broody loners of gothic literature to the rugged pioneers of survivalist documentaries, recluses have long been a source of fascination for artists and audiences alike. We’ve all heaved a sigh of relief after escaping tedious company, but to leave society forever? Humans are fundamentally pack animals, so when one separates from the herd and wanders off, we can’t help but plumb the depths of their psyche for answers. Defining a recluse isn’t as straightforward as it seems. It’s a person who lives a solitary existence, of course, but there also needs to be an element of self-determination, otherwise any old prisoner will do. Dae-su Oh in Oldboy (2004)? Prisoner. Carol in Repulsion (1965)? Recluse. The incarcerated children in Dogtooth (2009)? Prisoners. Miss Havisham of Great Expectations? Recluse. You get the idea. Prisoners and recluses have very different motivations and mindsets; conflating the two would be a mistake. Marie Lidén’s new documentary Electric Malady is about William, a man who believes modern life – and specifically, electricity – is making him ill, and his only option for survival is to live in a log cabin deep in the Swedish woods. Whether or not William’s electrosensitivity is real or psychosomatic (something Lindén tactfully explores in the documentary), his pain is real. It’s a key theme among the films on this list, many of which feature recluses whose impetus is a push from society, rather than a pull towards solitude. -
10 great gross-out comedies
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. First, a word of advice about gross-out comedies. They’re not to be watched while eating even the most basic of snacks. Popcorn? No. Cappuccino? Out of the question. They’re not to be watched – by any means – with your parents. With their gags involving urine, vomit, semen and all manner of bodily fluids, these in-your-face foul movies are the kind that you watch, then have to immediately shower after. This is the sub-genre’s charm, of course: that you weirdly enjoy the ‘eww!’ and the ’too far!!’ and the ‘please God no, don’t eat that!!!’ The roots of the subgenre – one marked not only by insanely gross scenes but by comedies that deal with taboo subjects such as sex and bodily functions – date back to the late 60s, after the MPAA film rating system replaced the industry’s strict Hays Code (which laid out moral guidelines of what was and wasn’t acceptable to show on screen). Back then, some directors were beginning to dabble with subversive comedies that raised a middle finger to the status quo. Nothing was too OTT, nothing too far. The most notable among them? John Waters, aka the Pope of Trash, whose unashamedly lowbrow and tawdry comedies (including Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble) happily dwelled on humans being gross. Towards the late 70s, the same shock humour employed by arthouse provocateurs bled into mainstream comedy, with popular movies like The Kentucky Fried Movie and National Lampoon’s Animal House leading to the term ‘gross-out’ being used by critics. The glory years of the gross-out comedy came in the late 90s, though, with the Farrelly brothers (There’s Something about Mary) and the countless teen movies featuring scenes of sexual embarrassment – remember American Pie’s Jim caught masturbating into a tube sock? What tethers these movies to their older cousins is, put simply, your reaction, your facial contortions. You worm in your seat, wishing you could unsee the thing you just saw. You want to wash your eyes out with a bar of soap. Ah, to be grossed out! -
10 Great Movies That Are Difficult To Discuss
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. Film is a delicate art form. It can be used as a tool for entertainment, spawning massive box office franchises that earn billions of dollars. While other films are made to be social commentary, looking at the fringes of human existence to reflect on mankind. Film is one of those rare forms of artistic expression that can be crowd pleasing and thought-provoking within the same spectrum. Through over 100 years of moviemaking, the process has matured and changed, creating ideals on form and element that are taught at a mature academic level. Cinema has a rich history. There have been triumphs and failures, but above all there has been difficulty. Whether from controversy, density, or confusion, film can be astoundingly polarizing to their audience. History’s reflection on cinema can be very hostile. Films can be loved in their time, then despised as they are discussed throughout time. Whether the cultural and political consciousness has altered or the content has been deemed “offensive”, filmmakers have been persecuted and misunderstood for their creations. Filmmakers can challenge audiences’ perceptions down to very soul. This can result in abstract or dense pieces that could take years for adequate reflection. Politics change, national feelings change, and storytelling can develop, but these films have found themselves at a crossroad that make them a great challenge. -
10 Great Movies That Explore Human Alienation
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. Some of the best movies ever made have been inspired by loneliness and isolation. There is still something to be said for the film that shines a light on the theme of alienation. By returning to this timeless concept, and taking a look at all the different lonely characters in film, there are lessons to be learned for our own lives. Here are 10 of the best films that explore human alienation. -
10 Great Movies That Meditate On Time
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. Cinema is truly one of the most complex forms of art. Legendary director Andrei Tarkovsky once said, “No art form can fix time as cinema does. So, what is a film? It’s a mosaic made of time.” In this list, we’re approaching movies that somehow have reflections about time in its theme (or themes). As always, it is never too late to remember that many aspects interfere on the choice of the titles of an article like this. But, as usual, memory and personal preferences are the main factors. If you think any other movie should be on this list, please leave it as a recommendation in the comments section below. So, here are 10 amazing movies that meditate on time: -
10 Great Movies That Push The Limits of Digital Filmmaking
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. Cinema is stuck in a circle of conventions and forced and unforced nostalgia, and particularly fervent supporters of the analogic qualities of cinema have taken the digital revolution as something to be criticized. What some people have missed is that the digital medium has a sort of punk attitude that represents the best chance at challenging the rules of cinema, rediscovering a more intimate nature, defying old codes of representation as well as the temporal and economical rules of cinema. It is also the best medium to approach the society of the late 90s and the 2000s, where digital is slowly beginning to dominate every artistic, economical, and philosophical field. -
10 Great Movies That Will Change Your View On Cinema
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Three acts. Beginning, middle, end. Shot reverse shot. Do all stories need to be told this way? Cinema is one of the most complex forms of art. The number of elements this art form uses to compose a piece of work are truly vast and the possibilities tend to be infinite. Sometimes we watch a movie that is able to change the way we view cinema. For the way it uses images, or sounds, or editing or any of the many elements cinema has, some films simply show us a path we may not have imagined before. And some films that do exactly that are the theme of this article. First of all, it is never too late to remember that the choice of the titles on this list is something very personal. Normally, the main factors that interfere with these choices are memory and personal preference, but this time there’s also the fact that the movies chosen were especially the ones that changed the way this writer used to view cinema before watching them. So, here are 10 movies that will (probably) change your view on cinema. -
10 Great Movies You Need To See To Really Understand BDSM
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. When most people think of “BDSM”, they might immediately have an idea in mind about what it means. In the world of film, however, BDSM isn’t all whips and chains. Relationships can be depicted in different ways that are not heteronormative, often to great results. Before the recent popularizing of Fifty Shades of Grey, there were several other films that made use of nontraditional relationships. This list includes a few of the best to tackle to subject successfully. -
10 great natural history films
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. In 1910, audiences were mesmerised by the spectacle of a sepia- and cobalt-toned series of flowers bursting into bloom, their petals unfurling in what appeared to be real time. The Birth of a Flower (1910) by F. Percy Smith (1880-1945) was a watershed moment in the use of what we now know as timelapse, or ‘time magnification’ as this pioneer of British natural history filmmaking referred to it. Since then, filmmakers have deployed an array of techniques for bringing the natural world closer to human perception, from macro- and micro-cinematography through to illustrative animations and computer models. The camera has transported viewers to places they cannot go, from the deepest ocean floors to the sun-baking heat of the most arid deserts. Smith, however, filmed most of his material in the grandiose-sounding Southgate Studios – actually his own home, a terraced house in Enfield, north London. For him, of equal importance to the phenomena that fell beneath his lens was the technology used to fix it on film. Both aspects were the subjects of the trio of books he co-authored, Secrets of Nature (1939), Cine-Biology (1941) and See How They Grow (1952), which explain the motivation, methodology and science behind his cinematic probings of the natural world. Many of Smith’s films are included on the BFI’s Secrets of Nature DVD release from 2010. Now they have been repurposed by Stuart A. Staples and David Reeve for an immersive and hypnotic new work, Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith, featuring a suitably free-flowing and otherworldly original soundtrack by Tindersticks with Thomas Belhom and Christine Ott. This new film presents a hidden universe that is sensual, abstract and alien, yet strongly resonates with our own perceptions of the ecosystem around us. The release of Minute Bodies on Blu-ray and DVD prompts an opportunity to cast our eyes to some of the more revolutionary endeavours in the field of natural history filmmaking over the past century. -
10 great puzzle films
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. “What’s in the box?” wails Brad Pitt’s panicked detective to Kevin Spacey’s implacable serial killer at the end of David Fincher’s pitch-black thriller Se7en (1995). Soon enough Pitt, and the audience, learn the horrific truth about Spacey’s special delivery. It’s testament to the enduring power of mysteries – the who-, why- and how-dunnits – that we always need to know, no matter how awful the solution might be. And those that can still pull one over on game and experienced armchair sleuths – Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019) and its upcoming sequel are fine recent examples – are valuable indeed. Of course, those are just one type of ‘puzzle’ movie. Some don’t so much contain a riddle to solve as much as the film itself is constructed as an enigma that defies easy answers, or any definite answer at all. This could be the interlocking double timeframes of Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000), which tries to replicate its amnesiac protagonist’s short-term memory lapses. Or the playful narrative diversions and roundelay of shifting identities in certain Jacques Rivette films. Peter Greenaway’s breakthrough feature, The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982), appeared 40 years ago and immediately put its own deft, acerbic headspin on British period films. It tells of the titular, entitled 17th-century draughtsman hired to make 12 drawings of a landowner’s country estate by his wife. In return, and in addition to his fee, she will satisfy his pleasures. But that’s only the start of a series of covert transactions, concealed vantage points and hidden motivations to be teased out by the viewer from Greenaway’s precise tableaux. The director would go on to make even more oblique, enigmatic work (often structured around a particular key or code), one of which features below in a selection of cinema’s most beautifully, often hypnotically, baffling brainteasers. -
10 great stressful films
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Going to the movies is fun, right? A blissful escape from the day-to-day pressures of modern living. But from the moment a desperado aimed his loaded pistol directly at the audience in 1903’s The Great Train Robbery, filmmakers have delighted in making us feel threatened, anxious, on edge. The techniques may have developed, from the blunt jump-scares of Val Lewton to the sophisticated emotional brutality of Lars von Trier, but the intention and the result are essentially the same: get a viewer settled in a confined space, then turn the thumbscrews on them for 90-plus minutes. It’s hard to pinpoint the precise appeal of a truly stressful movie. Take this month’s Netflix release, Uncut Gems, a masterpiece of relentless, brain-hammering tension in which Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a New York jeweller with an apparent death wish. Howard’s life ought to be perfect: he’s a nice guy, already wealthy, he’s got celebrity customers queueing up to buy his bling and he’s just taken possession of a rare Ethiopian gem. But somehow, he can’t stop shooting himself in the foot. Do we come to a film like Uncut Gems for life lessons, for a handy what-not-to-do? Are we trying to make ourselves feel better about our own comparatively insignificant anxieties? Or are we just gluttons for punishment, hungering for an intense but ultimately non-threatening experience, and the sense of relief that follows? Whatever the reason, stressful movies can be some of the most memorable. Here are 10 of the very best. -
10 great walking films
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. Cinema loves journeys. As a structuring tool, creating a long or short journey is one of the commonest occurrences in film; one that provides a physical beginning and end to a narrative. While a multitude of directors and genres have toyed with the potential mapping various journeys via transport – the road movie in particular – there’s something far more dramatic in showing characters that determinedly walk to where they want to go. Whether using it as a visual tool, just as British director Alan Clarke did in his many famed walking shots, or building whole narratives around a walk, as in many films by French directors Éric Rohmer and Agnès Varda, walking has always been a powerful way to not simply explore place and geography but also to explore character. Considering the slow pace, at least in comparison to other possible methods of getting from A to B, walking can make for surprisingly powerful and dramatic visuals on screen, whether traipsing across dangerous industrial zones, guarded national borders or simply down the busy street of a capital city. As the new British comedy The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry sends Jim Broadbent on an epic traipse from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed, here are 10 films it follows in footsteps. -
10 great whodunnit mysteries
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out joins the devilishly entertaining tradition of suspect-filled murder mysteries in which the audience plays sleuth. Rian Johnson’s riotously enjoyable movie Knives Out has all the ingredients of a classic whodunnit: a dead body in a country house, a variety of plausible suspects, an eccentric investigator and a plot with more twists than a coiled rattlesnake. Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc, a southern-fried sleuth called in to solve the murder of novelist and patriarch Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Naturally, suspicion falls on every member of his family, and Blanc must eliminate them one by one. From the procedural cop shows on TV to big-screen thrillers, the murder mystery is perennially popular, but the classic whodunnit makes more sporadic appearances. Part intellectual puzzle, part comedy, the whodunnit is at its most enjoyable when it is witty and light on its feet. It’s not about doling out justice, but tickling the audience with the pleasures of plot and character. That’s partly why Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap remains the longest-running show in the West End – although she famously asked the audience not to reveal the ending to their friends. In a perfect whodunnit the identity of the murderer should not be easily guessed at the outset, although looking back there will have been unmistakable clues. The plot should be garlanded with so many red herrings and dead ends that the audience’s heads are spinning by the end anyway. The detective may be an amateur, but he or she must be brilliantly clever, utterly idiosyncratic and dogged in their pursuit of the one person who had the means, the motive and the opportunity to commit the murder. For the most satisfying possible finale, the culprit’s true identity should be unveiled with a flourish, in front of all the suspects who have been gathered for the coup de théâtre. While Knives Out is self-consciously a throwback to the classic form, packed with allusions to its predecessors, this is a sub-genre that has taken a few enjoyable detours of its own. So let the games begin… -
10 Movies From The 2010s With The Best Dialogue
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. We all know the show “don’t tell” rule when it comes to film. However, certain filmmakers and films use dialogue so specifically that it creates its own poetry. These words tie into the visuals, become a motif for a character, or truly drive the story. Here are the best films of the decade that use dialogue to the fullest. -
10 Movies Inspired By Urban Legends
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Horror flicks can easily be about anything that makes our skin crawl. From maniacs with masks and sharp objects to haunted houses populated by vengeful spirits, finding something frightening is as easy as knowing where to look. But when it comes to certain members of the genre, they need to look no farther than human superstition. Urban legends and campfire tales have been with us since the birth of language itself, so it makes sense that they would transition well from the campfire to the screen. Tales of curses, strange creatures, and boogeymen have populated the genre for decades. So let's look at ten flicks inspired by urban legends.
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