Tag: Films from 2006

Reel 84: Denzel On the Case, Part 1

This is the first of two episodes we’ll be doing, featuring Denzel Washington as a law enforcement officer of some kind.

We open up with The Mighty Quinn, a 1989 film that Washington made right on the heels of his stint in the television show St. Elsewhere. (Don’t mistake it for his film debut, though.) Denzel is a police officer on a Caribbean island and there are some strange doings happening, which point to a good friend of his as the culprit. It’s a story of comedy, corruption, government interference, voodoo, cool drinks and hot music as he works to crack the case.

From there we return to the mainland and see our man in New York City, for Inside Man (2006), directed by Spike Lee. This is a crime thriller that has Denzel’s character matching wits with a bank robber. There are lots of twists and turns and you’re never sure who the titular “inside man” is until you’re very close to the end—although there are lots of breadcrumbs to help you figure it out. If, that is, you know how to read them.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

From the modern-day pieces of today’s episode, we’re going to jump to a period piece. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) is set in post-war California. There’s a mystery to be solved, and Denzel’s the man to solve it. Finally, we wrap this package up with Out of Time (2003), which returns Denzel to the present day, but he’s back in a tropical (well, subtropical, anyway) location to solve a murder before it can be pinned on him. Join us, won’t you?

Reel 82: In the Style of Ingmar Bergman

In most arts, there’s a fine line between homage and imitation. Go too subtle and nobody gets the references. Go too hard and chances are, you get dinged for pandering.

This time around we land on a couple of films that may do a little of each (in my opinion; Sean might disagree), but they’re good enough that you don’t really care.

We start with Away From Her, a 2006 film written and directed by Sarah Polley. We’ve talked about Polley as an actress in The Sweet Hereafter way, way back in Episode 5. You may recall that the director of that film was Atom Egoyan. In this film Egoyan acted as an executive producer for Polley’s feature directorial debut. In this film Julie Christie is a woman whose Alzheimer’s is advancing to the point where she has to go into a nursing home. Her husband (Gordon Pinsent) has to deal with the guilt, the loneliness, and a few other unexpected consequences of that decision.

From there we go to 2021’s Bergman Island, written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth are a filmmaking couple who travel to Faro Island to attend a film screening and generally be Bergman Tourists. Krieps’ character is having trouble working, while Roth’s is very productive. In Bergman style, we see a film-within-a-fim, along with reminders that we, as audience members, are watching a film in progress. If that looks confusing, my apologies. But if you’re familiar with Bergman’s films, you’ll get it as soon as you see this movie.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

Next time around, the influential director is Howard Hawks, and we look at another pair of modern-era films. We begin with Speed (1994), directed by Jan de Bont. (Some people call it The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.) Then we move on to The Martian, from 2013 and directed by Ridley Scott. This may be the only science fiction movie that has an inaccuracy in it that has actually turned off some viewers completely. Fie on them, I say.

Join us, won’t you?

Reel 81: In the Style of Hitchcock

Can I just take a moment to sit back and look proudly upon this episode’s cover art? It wasn’t tough to make but I really like the way it came out.

Okay, onward:

It’s often fun to see a film and realize that there’s something about it that reminds you of another filmic work. Maybe it’s a plot point. Maybe it’s the director’s use of the camera. Maybe it’s the overall feel of the thing. And maybe it’s just homage.

In this episode we’re looking at a pair of films that look and feel as though they’d been directed by Alfred Hitchcock. But in fact, Hitchcock was long dead by the time these films were released. (To be fair, he may have been alive while the first one was being made, but still.)

We begin with Diva, a film from 1981 that was directed and co-written by
Jean-Jacques Beineix. Based solely on the title and perhaps the artwork, you’d never have any idea that it’s a taut thriller. It’s got corrupt cops. It has French mobsters. It’s got opera singers and their groupies. It’s got a teenage thief who doubles as a muse for an artist-cum-philosopher. And, because it’s in the style of Hitchcock, it’s got a McGuffin. (MacGuffin? Research says they’re both right, but “Mc” looks better to my eye.) And that’s not all.

From there we jump ahead to 2006 and a film called Tell No One, directed and co-written by Guillaume Canet. This is one based on Hitchcock’s “innocent man” tropes, where a person finds themselves at the center of a big mystery, and everyone thinks he’s the criminal. We spend the film watching him struggle to prove his innocence as the forces around him get closer and closer. Does he know more than he lets on? Is he, in fact, innocent? You’ll be guessing until the very end.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In our next episode we move from Hitchcock to Bergman. Reel 82 looks at two films made in the style of Ingmar Bergman: Away From Her (2006) and then the aptly-titled Bergman Island (2021). Join us, won’t you?