Category Archives: movie

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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Film Quote (David Thomson)

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Cliff Burns

“Art is not a recreation, a consolation, a pastime, a business…it is the stone on which your knife is sharpened.” “The human tragedy is not our diligent wars, our arbitrary floods and earthquakes, our ordinary outrages of cruelty…It is that … Continue reading →

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“Whiteface” Directed by Everett Sokol; Director of Photography Sam Burns

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Cliff Burns
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Film Quote (Tarkovsky)

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Cliff Burns

“In cinema it is necessary not to explain, but to act upon the viewer’s feelings, and the emotion which is awoken is what provokes thought.” Andrei Tarkovsky     

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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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