William Goldman famously said “In Hollywood, nobody knows anything. Nobody learns anything.” In honor of his passing, the bean counters of the American film industry seem intent on proving him right. From poor choices of source material to attempts to revive genres long considered passé, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why upcoming releases are probably doomed… Read more »
Studios sure do love to put all of their faith into movies that don’t deserve any faith at all. For example, most people can look at a movie like Geostorm or Monster Trucks and predict things won’t turn out as planned. Several of those types of movies appear on this list. At the same time, studios also like to put… Read more »
As long as there are innocent people in the world, the depraved will try and exploit them. Overcoming or immersing oneself into hardship is the tell-tale sign of loss of innocence. This idea, though common in life, can also be seen symbolically in media. Film is no exception. There is something powerfully relatable about seeing a new age morality tale… Read more »
Versatility should be within an actor’s repertoire. Of course, some performers specialize in a select group of roles they take on, not even because they have been type casted. Nonetheless, being able to take on many different forms means you can reach wider audiences, rather than cater to your specific fan bases. You might know x performer from this one… Read more »
The world is governed by madness. In keeping with this, movies will occasionally bomb in theaters before finding an audience on video. The fanbases of cult classics range from puny to so large that you wonder why some of these films didn’t do well in their initial runs. From a children’s film that goes too far to a Halloween film… Read more »
Achieving a complete understanding of life may be as impossible as it is alluring, but still we strive toward it. The hope of unraveling the mystery of existence is the ultimate temptation of both the noble and the restless mind. But though the final answers may seem eternally one step beyond us, the journey promises its own rewards. What’s certain… Read more »
A list of great scenes could be labeled to a year, a genre, a country, or an actor, but this list will be strictly focused on the performances throughout film history. Trying to achieve a diverse list of performances in variations of mood, origin, and emotion are on this list. The acting of the actors at play in that one… Read more »
What is “badass”? Usually, this expression is used as a compliment towards something or someone that has edge, and carries almost a hypnotic essence to them. What constitutes as “badass” can differ from person to person, not even in a subjective sense but in an interpretational tense. Let’s stop ourselves and not look deeply into this, because that’s part of… Read more »
Amidst character development and storytelling which are considered to be the main ingredients for a watchable movie, visual style and precise direction are the main ones for a cinematic masterpiece. And since the seventh art is encapsulated for the most part in what meets the eye, here are some of the most wonderfully shot films with stunning visuals. 1…. Read more »
Here we go again, another attempt to rediscover cinematic gems from the past. We did our best to make this list diverse, because you, the TOC readers, have eclectic tastes that will not be easily satisfied. Hopefully this short list will offer you something to add to your already long watchlist. 1. Thieves’ Highway (1949, Jules Dassin) The great… Read more »
An artist’s highest aspiration is to pierce a panhuman foundation of ideas, defining on that very breakthrough an original locus of distinctive perceptions. Indeed, art has been carrying out this task since its inception. Exposing the darkest and best self-concealed aspects of societies, various legendary artists have shocked through their work. But what has been more effective, historically speaking, than… Read more »
2018 has been a great year for horror fans. Sure there were a few sequels nobody asked for, though a few of those were actually rather well done (the following list sidesteps Johannes Roberts’s The Strangers: Prey at Night and Colin Hardy’s The Nun, but both films reward a late night watch), and there’s a few franchises we weren’t all… Read more »
If there is one rule most films liked to adhere to is giving viewers a happy ending. After a long, arduous journey, the hero is rewarded and so are audiences, with a warm fuzzy feeling of the “they lived happily ever after” persuasion. Although this practice was religiously followed in the early days of cinema, studios and writers alike slowly… Read more »
Like any form of art, films are divisive. What one person enjoys is not necessarily going to be what another person does and vice versa. Audiences are frequently divided over whether a film has merit or not. However, there are some films which appear to go beyond this and split audiences firmly one way or another – causing audiences to… Read more »
Less as it may be, still there are a few auteur of cinema who are more concerned with filmmaking as an art and less as a medium to mint money. Every artist strives to create a body of work that connects with an audience, but there are few who come to fulfil a personal vision instead of catering to what the masses desire. It… Read more »
Watching movies alone is a timeless practice. For many it can be a time of meditation, reflection, or simply uninhibited amusement. Solitude allows for the most intimate and distinctive viewing experiences as it allows for full immersion into the director’s world, allowing one to notice all the minute nuances of a performance and slights of a filmmaker’s hand that other… Read more »
