Movie reviews

Cry-Baby (1990)
“I wonder what the nice people are doing tonight.” –Dana Andrews, in While the City Sleeps Director John Waters isn’t noted for making movies

Chungking Express (1932)
“Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expire. Meat sauce expires. Even cling film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn’t?” –Badge

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
–“Are you happy?” –“I’m not unhappy.” If you haven’t seen Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and this review piques your interest, I’ve got a

All Night Long (1981)
BEN, giving great weight to each word, and with a certain vicious audacity: William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I

Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), directed by Uli Edel
Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966), directed by Don Sharp
“If there had been no Rasputin, there would have been no Lenin.” –Alexander Kerenskey, Premier of the short-lived Provisional Government that followed the overthrow of

The Wings of the Dove (1997)
‘Fess up. When was the last time you actually read a Henry James novel? Even if you’re a fan of Great Dead White Authors, and

Liberty Heights (1999)
Sylvia’s father: “Shouldn’t you be getting out [of the car]?” Ben: “It’s Sinatra [on the radio]. You don’t walk out on Frank, Sir. It would

Abre los ojos [Open Your Eyes] (1997)
If we have enjoyment, suffering, and birth in dreams, what about death?….What if you dream you have killed somebody? You may become upset and say

Cabaret (1972)
“And I made a rural pen, And I stain’d the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs Every child may joy to hear.” *****

Comic Book Confidential (1988)
“I always felt I was involved in a literary form. I had literary pretensions. I was a frustrated writer, and a frustrated artist. I took

Gormenghast (2000)
“Sickened by virtue he rebelled and cried For all things horrible to be his bride For through the hot red tides of sin

Surviving Picasso (1996)
“May you be painted by Picasso!”—Parisian curse James Ivory’s Surviving Picasso (1996) is a fascinating failure. It’s as if someone made a pretty good film about