Kubrick in Progress | Killer’s Kiss (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Killer's Kiss (1955) - Jamie Smith

If technically Stanley Kubrick’s second feature film, the director almost entirely disowned his first (1952’s Fear and Desire) and considered Killer’s Kiss to be the start of his filmmaking career. Made when he was just 27-years-old, the noir thriller is clearly a formative work, unpolished and lacking either the intellectual or technical rigor Kubrick would… Read More Kubrick in Progress | Killer’s Kiss (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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Perception and Reality Are Two Different Things | Juliet of the Spirits (1965) Criterion Blu-ray

Juliet of the Spirits (1965) - Giulietta Masina

Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece 8 ½ is remembered, rightly so, as a defining work of Surrealist cinema. Part of that film’s genius is the way its fantastical elements are rooted in an autobiographical confession for the director’s own personal flaws, self-absorption, and lousy treatment of the women in his life. Attempting at least somewhat of… Read More Perception and Reality Are Two Different Things | Juliet of the Spirits (1965) Criterion Blu-ray

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It’s Unscientific, Unexplainable, Unnatural, Unreasonable | House (1977) Criterion Blu-ray

House / Hausu (1977)

I’ve liked, loved, disliked, or hated countless movies over the years. I’ve felt indifferent to many others. Never before have I had an experience like watching House (or Hausu if you prefer), the 1977 Japanese cult film about a group of annoying teenage girls who get trapped in a haunted or demon-infested mansion. I’m left… Read More It’s Unscientific, Unexplainable, Unnatural, Unreasonable | House (1977) Criterion Blu-ray

Josh Zyber3 Comments

The Poetry of War | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) Criterion Blu-ray

Ghost Dog (1999) - Forest Whitaker

Jim Jarmusch might not be the first name one would consider to direct a hitman thriller. In most of his early work, such as Stranger Than Paradise or Mystery Train, the indie auteur established a very laconic style of character drama mostly lacking much in the way of plot or… well… drama. Today, we’d probably… Read More The Poetry of War | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) Criterion Blu-ray

Josh Zyber2 Comments

Film After 11 Podcast | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man No Way Home (2021)

This week’s double-length episode of the Film After 11 podcast is a doozy. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters, my son Thomas and I started off talking about its predecessor, 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Somewhere along the way, the conversation went off the rails and… well, let’s just say that, like any Marvel… Read More Film After 11 Podcast | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

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