“Perhaps David Cronenberg is owed another kind of reputation: that of a humanist filmmaker who observes and questions, who understands our pain and sorrow as well as our ambitions both intellectual and libidinous.”
“Despite its storytelling flaws and omissions, ’64 Day Hero’ is a must-watch for the boxing documentary completist.”
‘Top Gun’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Tony Scott’s 1986 movie.
D.M. Palmer on the career women of ‘9 to 5’ (1980), ‘Baby Boom’ (1987), ‘Big Business’ (1988), ‘Working Girl’ (1988) and ‘Disclosure’ (1994).
“Dennis Potter left us with one of the most ambitious and meaningful pieces of British television, bridging commercial and public broadcasting to address the state of the nation and the fate of the artist with his customary irreverence and accessibility.”
“‘Kharij’ is a scathing expose of societal problems that — truth be told — aren’t exclusive to Indian society.”
“The 70s were a tumultuous and often bleak decade for the British film industry, and this pessimism bled into its output.”
Ignacio Agüero Essay: Vague Visages’ Q.V. Hough on OVID’s streaming celebration of the Chilean documentarian.
“If you’re looking for feminism, don’t look at James Cameron — look at his films.”
“‘Mona Lisa’ was ahead of its time, a precursor of urban fairy tales in late 90s British cinema.”
‘Sleepaway Camp’ Cast: A Vague Visages guide for every main performer and character in Robert Hiltzik’s 1983 horror movie.
“Bellocchio’s 1986 film ‘Devil in the Flesh’ is perfectly representative of the great Italian director’s outlook.”
Mannhunting #2 by Bill Bria: “In Mann’s duality of man, cop and robber are, in Stevenson’s words, ‘radically both’ one and the same.”
Mannhunting #1 by Bill Bria: “The protagonists and antagonists in Mann’s films tend to be mirror images of each other, all of them caught within masculinity’s shackles.”
“For all the praise showered on Almodóvar’s later work, it lacks the wildness, freshness and exuberance of his 80s filmography, which often feels unfairly overlooked as a result.”
“By spoiling God’s servants with sex, drugs and doubt, films like Almodóvar’s ‘Dark Habits’ show that earnestly criticising the Catholic Church’s crimes is not the only way to weaken centuries of unchecked supremacy.”
Fedor Tot on Pedro Almodóvar’s Collaborations with Antonio Banderas
“Nearly 40 years after its release, ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ continues to send signals.”
“The ‘Poltergeist’ films will remain eternally relevant as long as America and other countries keep making the same tragic mistakes over and over again, building their own haunted houses for spirits to eventually consume from within.”
“Santa Sangre’s themes of empathy and hope are uniquely personal for Jodorowsky, and they help bring the film’s horrors and bloodshed into perspective…”
