Author Archives: Bill Wren

Tedious masterpiece: The Shining

I love Stanley Kubrick but I hate his movies. Yes, hate is a bit strong. Let’s say dislike. I just find his films boring. At the same time, I find them visually brilliant and fascinating. I can’t think of any … Continue reading

Mumford and the art of listening

Below I refer to John Sayles but maybe the movie Mumford is more like Lasse Hallstrom amused and charmed by a Norman Rockwell America. Whatever it is, and despite a few anachronisms, I still find this movie appealing. It has … Continue reading

Predator and prey and packs in Collateral

This movie is filled with fascinating imagery as Michael Mann presents a nocturnal vision of the city that is dark and threatening. It also has a key image, the coyote, that I think many people misremember. If you look at … Continue reading

The tall tale of The Mexican

Call it a tall tale, a shaggy dog story or any of the other variations, this is a movie that uses exaggeration and fable to tell a story that centres around another romantic tall tale. And it works much better … Continue reading

Pralines and cream: Legally Blonde

Maybe the reason I like this movie so much is because when I first encountered it I was sure I would absolutely hate it. It is such a piece of candy. It is such a piece of Hollywood fluff. It … Continue reading

Hypocritical and disturbing: They Won’t Forget

I’m usually more forgiving of the sins of older movies as I try to keep in mind the periods they were made and the attitudes and mindsets of the day. But the subject They Won’t Forget takes on and how … Continue reading

Who was Lawrence of Arabia?

Lawrence of Arabia is the Icarus myth. A hero starts out at neither the bottom nor top but somewhere around the middle, perhaps a bit lower than that, then ascends. But he gets too close to the sun and falls. … Continue reading