7 Reasons Why “Incendies” Is Denis Villeneuve’s Overlooked Masterpiece

Incendies (2010)

Denis Villeneuve’s movie “Incendies” was his cinematic breakthrough and the last film in French that he made; it earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It is based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, a Lebanese-Canadian who, among other projects, produced a trilogy of Greek plays by Sophocles. “Incendies” is a journey […]

9 Reasons Why “Shame” is a Modern Masterpiece

Michael-Fassbender-as-Brandon-in-Shame

Steve McQueen’s “Shame” is a film one can rarely encounter. The director is also a visual artist, which obviously has an immense impact on his visual and narrative style. “Shame” is his second film, following his debut film “Hunger” which doesn’t shy away from showing the brutality and violence inflicted upon an individual, in a […]

7 Reasons Why “Black Swan” Is Darren Aronofsky’s Best Movie

“It’s beautiful, actually…” – Nina Darren Aronofsky was raised culturally Jewish and he is familiar with Jewish history and religion. He is an environmentalist and he studied social anthropology. He started his career with “Pi”, a film that is more of a study in madness than a work that contemplates scientific subjects, although it deals […]

6 Reasons Why “Inherent Vice” Is Criminally Underrated

“I don’t know what I just saw.” – “Doc” Sportello “Inherent Vice” is the 2014 film by the wunderkind Paul Thomas Anderson; it is based on the novel of the same name by acclaimed postmodernist author Thomas Pynchon. Jean-François Lyotard famously defined postmodernism as an “incredulity towards metanarratives,” meaning that the narratives that gave meaning […]

7 Reasons Why “Inside Llewyn Davis” Is A Modern Classic

The Coen brothers are the directors who brought us “Fargo”, “No Country for Old Men”, and other striking achievements that follow their distinct cinematic and narrative style. In their films, they manage to meticulously portray unique and intriguing characters. The dialogues are masterly crafted, often containing witty and black humor; they explore various philosophical themes; […]