Another great one, I thought, by Kelley Reichert, Showing Up, with another stunning performance by Michelle Williams. Some good art on display too, and a nice turn by Andre 3000. Didn’t know he acts, and so well!
I like Kelly Reichardt so I’ll be watching. Andre 3000 is in Claire Denis’s High Life which I always recommend to fans of Solaris, Silent Running, Moon kind of movies.
I love it but it starts with Robert Pattinson bringing up a baby/toddler in a spaceship on his own which is kind of frustrating/boring like you can imagine.
Yes! I think I brought up High Life in the thread about the list of 150 great sci fi flicks, forgot that he’s in it. I never did check to see if it’s on there, but its being directed by a women (a French one at that) made it seem unlikely.
If anyone reading thinks “you’re right, sounds boring” the movie also has Juliette Binoche running a masturbation pod machine and crazy Mia Goth getting “spaghetti-fied” in a black hole.
You might know the Irish actor Pierce Brosnan from his stint in the Bond universe or his titular role in the detective series Remington Steele. Or you might simply know him as Robin Williams’ antagonist in Mrs. Doubtfire. However you know him, chances are you know that he is one fine hunk of man, and this has been true throughout the entirety of his very long and surprisingly robust career.
But what you might not know is that Brosnan got his start in quite a sexy way. His first onscreen role wasn’t as a British detective or a Cold Way spy, but as a sultry IRA agent-cum-honey trap in the groundbreaking British gangster film The Long Good Friday.
John Mackenzie’s 1980 gangster flick was important for a few distinct reasons: not only was it the film that put rising actor Bob Hoskins on the map, it was one of the first features that earned serious acclaim for its production company, ex-Beatle George Harrison’s Handmade Films. Originally started as a kind of lark in order to help his pals, the men of Monty Python, get financing for their Biblical send-up Life of Brian , Handmade Films quickly made good on its promise to produce risky, exciting, gritty British films that the major studios were too conservative to take a chance on.
Marvelous Midge with a gun and a baby? It’s not what you might expect. This one is all from the POV of a mob wife who doesn’t know anything about what’s going on. Very tense and believable, with excellent production design that looks authentic early ‘70’s - not the cartoon stuff you usually see. Top notch all around.
Believably quirky Dixie mafia story from a writer-directer-star who is actually from Arkansas. Well directed, solid performances - and a killer soundtrack of country songs covered by the Flaming Lips.
I highly recommended both these to fans of mafia crime thrillers who want to see something told from a different perspective than usual.
Prime Cut is another good gangster picture outside of the usual settings, instead set in the US Midwest. Lee Marvin and Sissy Spacek in her first lead.
I believe I’ve mentioned Get Carter here upthread, which is a great gangster picture which, as a Hollywood wide release, was unusual then for being set in the North of England. Michael Caine. a 1970s version of what Guy Ritchie wishes his films were. nothing wrong with Ritchie but after seeing GC, his stuff is obviously second rate.
EDIT: guess I’ll throw in White Lightning to the list. pulpy Southern gangster stuff staring Burt Reynolds. not exactly cinema but very entertaining. in the sequel, Gator, he returns but it’s a prison corruption plot, but I guess that’s also gangsterism