If I were to guess – it’s the look of the film.

That (VFX) over-glossed aesthetic is not helping ticket sales at all. 

The original was a low-budget Australian picture, gritty, and grounded in realism – being of the exploitation era of filmmaking, the first Mad Max was shot with camera/lenses that were extremely low-grade. This ensured it had a “mockumentary” feel and look, even though that’s not the genre the ‘Mad Max’ films belonged to. The closest comparison I can think of is Dennis Hopper’s ‘Easy Rider’ or ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, both titles heralded the revolution of independent films in the 70s. Then as budgets inflated; each subsequent release became more slick and polished, continuing to this day with the latest entry, ‘Furiosa’. 

His pictures are iconic, visually stunning, and often enigmatic. An auteur, Bong Joon-ho  봉준호 utilizes a cinematic tone that is simultaneously plangent and hopeful.

A South Korean filmmaker that has the joy of being the recipient of the only Academy Award for Best Picture awarded to a film that’s not in english, Joon-ho has more accolades than any other international director, writer, producer. He continues to craft award winning cinema that lampoons societal issues; examining the differences between standards of living among the poor and rich – with stories that commonly have dark comedic undertones.

Is Tarantino the best new-age director of our lifetime?

Quite probably.

Is ‘Jackie Brown’ one of his most underappreciated films – regardless of the cult status it’s gained in the years since its inception?

Also, yes.

One of the lesser known Tarantino classics – adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, ‘Jackie Brown’ is a story about a woman who’s nearing middle-age and has landed herself in a heap of legal trouble. With her wits, charms, and guile – will she get herself out of the jam? Well, when 70s grindhouse star Pam Grier is playing a character; “she ain’t nobody’s sucka”.

See Grier’s other films, ‘Coffy’ and ‘Foxy Brown’ for examples of this.

Directed & Written by: Quentin Tarantino 

Original date of Release: December 25th / 1997

I’m a sucker for a good arthouse film. 

‘Ex Machina’ is definitely that – and much more.

Directed by Alex Garland in 2015, this film is an introspection on life, love, and creation; through the lens of artificial intelligence. With all the recent advancements in AI – I figured it was time to cover a fine piece of filmmaking that takes an in-depth look at the concept of synthetically created people.

 Once relegated to science fiction; the creation of “Turing tested” androids now seems like a distinct possibility – in the years to come. As of late, every company has begun to invest in AI Language Models, Automated Processes (driver assist, autopilot, Amazon’s Just Walk Out), and fully autonomous robots for personal and commercial use.