Category Archives: Reelviews

1999’s “The Matrix” (dir. The Wachowski Brothers) tells a fanciful story — presumably inspired by Tron — from the perspective of software processes. The two protagonists, Agents Brown and Jones, are charged with protecting their host system from damage caused … Continue reading →

A loose adaptation of “Death of a Salesman” (Arthur Miller, 1949), 1981’s “The Road Warrior” (dir. George Miller) follows the adventures of door-to-door pet salesman Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) in the Australian outback of the early 1980’s. While the basic … Continue reading →

An unofficial 4th chapter in the British “House of Cards” mini-series trilogy, 1998’s “Dark City” (dir. Alex Proyas) sees Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) revivified by aliens, and set up as the governor of the eponymous city (clearly a much reworked … Continue reading →

AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (showrunner: Vince Gilligan) is a surprisingly ham-fisted critique of the Fed’s expansionary monetary policy, badly concealed inside an implausible crime story and tedious domestic drama. The effects of inflation run throughout the series, usually reflected in the … Continue reading →

Woody Allen’s 1979 “Manhattan” is, perhaps, one of cinema’s greatest misfires. Famously so hated by its auteur that he offered to forgo his director’s fees on his next project if UA would shelve the film, it illustrates how even the … Continue reading →

A prescient allegory for the Vietnam War, David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” of 1962 moves the action to the Arabian Middle East during WWI, and recasts Hoang Van Thai as T. E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole). The film is remarkable not … Continue reading →

1990’s “Goodfellas” (dir. Martin Scorsese) follows Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he pursues his life-long dream of working for the FBI. Unable to join the bureau due to the era’s prejudice against his half-Jewish ancestry, Liotta commits himself — from … Continue reading →

In “High Noon”, of 1952, Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is unexpectedly called to account for his sins. Kane learns that the Governor has freed a man whom he and the town judge had conspired to sentence to death. Furthermore, … Continue reading →

“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (dir. John Huston, 1948, from a novel by B. Traven) examines the lives of the burro rustlers of Northwestern Mexico in the 1920’s. Chief among these is Gold Hat (Alfonso Bedoya), whose single-minded pursuit … Continue reading →

2007’s “No Country for Old Men” (directed and written for the screen by the Coen brothers, from Cormac McCarthy’s novel) is a languorous exploration of the vehicles of the early 1980’s, concealed within an ostensible fish-out-of-water comedy about mildly autistic … Continue reading →