Month: June 2022

Posted on 2022-06-01 | No Comments |

Turning Red (2022)

Along with the normal tribulations of puberty, Canadian thirteen year old Mei must also grapple with an inherited condition which turns her into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited. Foregoing the traditional Pixar story arc of beginning with a heart-rendering opening, instead this film has a number of exceptionally cringe-worthy episodes as Mei finds herself through pulling from her mother’s influence and into the support of her friend group. Though I don’t imagine I’ll find need to rewatch it again in the near future, it is incredibly relatable to anyone who has survived their teenage years.

Posted on 2022-06-01 | No Comments |

The Old Dark House (1932)

During a heavy rain storm, a group of travelers takes refuge at a mysterious old house whose strange residents include a couple of dangerous individuals. After watching Universal Horror I’ve been wanting to check out more of James Whale’s work. While this one has some great atmosphere and effective performances by the like of Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton, the flow of the narrative is rather uneven. Locking people inside rooms while there’s a pyromaniac loose makes the climax ridiculous but also engaging.

Posted on 2022-06-01 | No Comments |

Paisan (1946)

The second of Rossellini’s war trilogy, this collection of six different episodes tell of a variety of experiences had during the Italian Campaign: an Italian woman agrees to guide American soldiers through a German minefield, a Neapolitan street urchin befriends a drunken Black soldier only to steal his boots after he falls asleep, a different American soldier meets an Italian prostitute only for her to realize they’ve met before, an American nurse and Italian man together risk their lives through battling areas to find news of loved ones, three American chaplains of different religious persuasions take refuge in an Italian Catholic monastery, and members of the OSS fight alongside Italian partisans in the Po delta. . The stories, each written by a different screenwriter, vary in strength but all focus in some way on the interactions between Italian citizens and Allied military members. Language barriers and suspicions of loyalty often get in the way of accomplishing goals and finding peace.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay