Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Feb15

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Buffet of the Universe: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)     I simply love this film.  I’ve seen it twice now and have no doubt that a third viewing will yield up even more surprises.  It is called Beasts of the Southern Wild, and it is directed by first-timer Benh Zeitlin.  The script is by Lucy Alber and Zeitlin, based on Alber’s one-act play called ‘Juicy and Delicious.’  The haunting music is by Dan Romer and again,...

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Killing Them Softly (2012)
Feb15

Killing Them Softly (2012)

“America’s Not a Country.  It’s Just a Business.” Killing Them Softly (2012)     By heavens, there’s a blast from the past!  Killing Them Softly is based on a novel by George V.  Higgins, a name I haven’t heard in years, since maybe back to the seventies.  My father loved that tough guy stuff and so I remember a lot of Higgins around the place; Higgins and his favourite, James Hadley Chase.   I often wondered why more books from...

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Deception and Betrayal: Shadow Dancer (2012)
Feb11

Deception and Betrayal: Shadow Dancer (2012)

Deception and Betrayal: Shadow Dancer (2012)     In the brief prologue to James Marsh’s film Shadow Dancer we are in Belfast, 1973, at the height of the Troubles.  When young Collette McVeigh (Andrea Riseborough) is asked by her father to run out to the shop for some cigarettes she instead bribes her little brother to go for her whilst she finishes making a necklace.  Outside her window the audience sees signs of panic although...

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Losing My Virginity: The Sessions (2012)
Feb07

Losing My Virginity: The Sessions (2012)

Losing My Virginity: The Sessions (2012)     Oh boy, did this film bring back memories.  Even the day after seeing it I’m still revisiting that time—well, if you were a teenage male in the seventies, this was true– between the ages of about sixteen and twenty when a huge proportion of your thoughts were taken up with Losing Your Virginity.  That’s how we thought of it…with big capitals.  Of course, according to all of...

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