Category Archives: film review

Best Movies Watched in 2022

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Cliff Burns

“Nightmare Alley” (2021) Directed by Guillermo del Toro “Songs From the Second Floor” (2000) Directed by Roy Andersson “You, the Living” (2007) Directed by Roy Andersson “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022) Directed by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert “Me … Continue reading →

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Best Films Watched in 2021

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Cliff Burns

“Citizen Kane”* (Directed by Orson Welles) “Mank” (Directed by David Fincher) “An Elephant Sitting Still” (Directed by Hu Bo) “Kajillionaire” (Directed by Miranda July) “Nomadland” (Directed by Chloe Zhao) “The Selfish Giant” (Directed by Clio Barnard) “Shoplifters” (Directed by Hirokasu … Continue reading →

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“Dune” (The Review)

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Cliff Burns

Dune (2021) Director: Denis Villeneuve Writers: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard I’ve read the novel Dune exactly one time, when I was around fifteen years old. Frank Herbert’s book … Continue reading →

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Best Films Watched in 2020

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Cliff Burns

Ninety-four (94) movies watched in 2020 and it’s time to pick the ones that stood out most. A diverse roster, I think you’ll agree, and, if nothing else, I hope this post draws your attention to fine, ground-breaking cinema from … Continue reading →

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Best Films Watched in 2019

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Cliff Burns

Didn’t quite achieve my goal of watching a hundred films during the course of 2019, but at 92 I came pretty darn close. Not as many documentaries this past year, which is somewhat surprising as it’s a genre that has … Continue reading →

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I hate comic book movies (d’you think it shows?)

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Cliff Burns

This movie sucks (and so do you) Whatever happened to scholarship, whatever happened to standards? Why are there no good, reliable movie critics these days? Where have you gone, Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris? We miss you Manny Farber and … Continue reading →

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Best Films Watched in 2018

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Cliff Burns

Thanks to the irresistible temptations of Netflix and the unfortunate discovery of podcasts, I watched less than 100 movies in 2018, far below my usual tally. Ah, but in my defense, the proportion of good movies to bad ones was … Continue reading →

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Censorship at the CBC

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Cliff Burns

Speaking of censorship…I responded to Eli Glasner’s choices as the “best” pictures of the year on CBC’s website and my comment was “disabled” because, apparently, the administrators thought I was too mean for pointing out that Eli’s pick for the … Continue reading →

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Best Movies of 2017

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Cliff Burns

For the second year in a row I managed to watch over one hundred movies in 2017. Here is a roster of my favorite cinematic experiences of the past year: “I, Daniel Blake” (Directed by Ken Loach) “Dogtooth” (Directed by … Continue reading →

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“Kedi” (Turkey; 2016)

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Cliff Burns

“Kedi” (Documentary; 79 minutes) Director and Producer: Ceyda Torun My wife and I spent ten days in Istanbul during the summer of 2016. Despite arriving only a short time after an attempted coup, we found the atmosphere of the ancient city … Continue reading →

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