After the success of their rightly acclaimed, Oscar-winning 2007 hit No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers made two dry, dark comedies in a row, neither of which has garnered the same level of praise as their brooding Texas masterpiece. Though Burn After Reading (2008) has developed a substantial cult following since its release, […]
A Serious Man (2009)
June 14, 2020 by
Film Title
A Serious ManSynopsis
Being a Jew can suck, especially if God hates you.
Director
Ethan & Joel CoenCast
Michael Stuhlbarg
Richard Kind
Fred Melamed
Sari Lennick
Aaron Wolff
Jessica McManus
Playtime (Jacques Tati’s)
June 10, 2020 by
Film Title
PlaytimeSynopsis
Modern Life (and the modern cubicle farm) interfere at every point with Monsieur Hulot’s attempt to hold a meeting with an important business executive.
Director
Jacques TatiCast
Barbara Dennek
Jacques Tati
Rita Maiden
2 hrs, 36 minutes, suitable for all ages Q’esque que c’est? The last of Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot comedies, a major inspiration for Rowan Atkinson’s Laugh In. Fair value of Antrum: $25.00. I really can’t think of another film like it. In some ways, it evokes Chaplin’s Modern Times, but it has a subtlety and […]
Velvet Buzzsaw
June 10, 2020 by
Film Title
Velvet BuzzsawSynopsis
A satire set in the contemporary art world scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.
Director
Dan GilroyCast
Jake Gyllenhaal
Rene Russo
Zawe Ashton
John Malkovich
Tom Sturridge
Natalia Dyer
When not engaged in auto-fellatio, one can imagine high brow, hoity-toity circles—art, fashion, and I shudder to think cinema is a third possibility—to instead partake in a close alternative; self-fucking. Sure, many a casting couch allegation attests to the coercive Weinstein Way, but I speak of complementary players being in bed with one another for […]
Double Indemnity
June 8, 2020 by
Film Title
Double IndemnitySynopsis
A confident insurance salesman falls for the femme fatale, and they plot to murder her husband.
Director
Billy WilderCast
Fred MacMurray
Barbara Stanwyck
Edward G. Robinson
Porter Hall
Tom Powers
Jean Heather
In a just universe, we’d all toil tirelessly in Billy Wilder’s cinematic fantasy, never once questioning his authority or perspective. There have been more visionary artists to be sure – and certainly more ambitious – but few are as perfect a fit for any occasion. Because of his genius regarding the melding of humor, pathos, […]
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made
June 8, 2020 by
Film Title
Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever MadeSynopsis
A supposedly cursed film that kills all who watch it. Which is fine, I wasn’t doing much with my life anyways.
Director
David Amito and Michael LaiciniCast
Nicole Tompkins
Rowan Smythe
Dan Istrate
Shu Sakimoto
1 hr 35 minutes, R for extreme violence, torture, mutilation How deadly is it? Well, so far, I feel OK, but the editors of Ruthless will let you know if I died, so, clock’s ticking. I suppose I’m the ideal guinea pig for watching a cursed film that kills everyone who watches it- I’ve […]
Postal (2007)
June 4, 2020 by
Film Title
PostalSynopsis
Uwe Boll’s finest and most tasteless movie
Director
Uwe BollCast
Zack Ward
David Foley
Chris Copola
J.K. Simmons
David Huddleston
Ewe Boll
Jackie Tohn
Vern Troyer
Brent Mendenhall
Yes, I’m doing it. At the insistence of my good friend Ted Barrus, I am reviewing an Uwe Boll movie. Uwe Boll is a legend for making tasteless movies that are virtually unwatchable. The movie Postal is his finest achievement. The only other movie that I’ve watched that comes close to Postal for sheer vulgarity, […]
Christmas In July -or- It’s Not Even July Yet: I’ll Do Anything To Get My Mind Off Of Covid & Assassination Of Blacks Edition (Even Christmas)
June 4, 2020 by
The Christmas Season is again over as a New Year approaches. Yet again, the imaginary and paranoid “War On Christmas” has failed to materialize, just like the last prediction of the Rapture. The Religiously Impaired™ will never learn, will they? Of course, that is not important now. What is important is a reflection on the […]
Suspicion (1941)
June 1, 2020 by
Film Title
SuspicionSynopsis
A shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her
Director
Alfred HitchcockCast
Cary Grant
Joan Fontaine
Cedric Hardwicke
Nigel Bruce
Isabel Jeans
Auriol Lee
“Gaslighting” is the use of psychological manipulation to make a person doubt their own sanity, and even to lose it. The term derives from the 1938 British play Gas Light and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations from Britain and Hollywood, respectively. It is somewhat surprising Alfred Hitchcock was not at the helm of the […]
Best Movies That Can Inspire Kids To Be More Active
May 27, 2020 by
Kids are naturally fast learners, and they quickly grab information, especially when they are between the age of one to four. Training your kids has moved on from pointing out pictures to them on hardcopy books — you can now do more, thanks to the TV. Unlike in the past, when televisions were a symbol […]
Dreamers: John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre & The Misfits
May 25, 2020 by
Speaking of cowboys, Isabelle Steers (Thelma Ritter) says to aging cowboy Gay Langland (Clark Gable), “I love every miserable one of you, though you’re all good for nothing, as you well know,” to which he replies, “That may be, but it’s better than wages.” That motto (“it’s better than wages”) is referred to several times […]
