OUT OF THE CAST - THE FILM NOIR PODCAST

Another podcast appears! The Curmudgeon (myself) has started a brand new podcast series exclusively for film noir. From episode to episode, myself and a guest will discuss various instalments into the film noir canon. Join Green Ornstein and I as we trawl through Fargo season 1 (2014), the snow-swept neo-noir continuation of the Coen Brothers' '96 classic.

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W A T C H M E N: A Retrospective

Words by The Curmudgeon . Title image compliments of Green Ornstein . [WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Alan Moore's 1986 graphic novel, Watchmen . If you haven't read Watchmen, I SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND IT. If you have, or you don't mind the odd spoiler, read on!] Special thanks to Green Ornstein for providing the title image! I can’t help but feel a trifle trepidatious over the recent absorption of Alan Moore’s Watchmen (1986) into the rest of the DC Universe. Of course, Moore’s original text was always a property of DC comics, seeing publication under their banner in 1986-87. But it was never a part of the universe which DC had established. This could be taken as implicit , given that none of the flagship franchise heroes of DC’s monopoly make so much as a cameo in Moore’s world. Those familiar with Watchmen will know that there are even major historical events which unfold in its timeline – a major law , for example, which mandates the conscr...

Porco Rosso - DISTANCE

Words by Curmudgeon Film Talk There’s this scene in Porco Rosso (1992) wherein the protagonist, Marco, dines in solitude with his childhood friend, Gina. She relays a recently-acquired anecdote: a boisterous yet conceited seaplane pilot named Curtis - whom she’d just met - asked to marry her. “I’ve married three pilots,” she tells him, “one died in the war, one in the Atlantic, and the third in Asia.” I recall, upon watching Porco Rosso for the first time, this line irked me. “Here are two people who’ve been friends for many years. Why would she tell him this? Surely, he would already know,” I thought to myself. An excuse for exposition, I imagined. My criticism came too soon, though. As Marco hesitates, his face gone blank, it becomes clear – in the most indirect manner possible, Gina discloses her husband’s death. The solemn words follow: “they found him?” Their subdued manner keeps them composed. And yet, something in director Hayao Miyazaki’s detailed ey...

How A Silent Voice changed my life - a salute to Kyoto Animation

Written by The Curmudgeon I n 2017 I watched a film for the first time which perfectly embodied my experience with depression. The story and themes captured not just the symptoms of my personal depression, but also a cause. It so succinctly sliced through the confusing bullshit of my mind. It cracked a code. I’m talking about A Silent Voice (2016) . I feel indebted to this movie because it somehow found a way to explain my depression better than I ever could. It gave me words when there were none. It made depression feel like a less lonely place, perhaps just because I had something to compare myself to. I’d like to delve into how the film affected me and how I read into it personally. This is not a review, nor is it an exhaustive essay claiming to understand what the film is ‘about’, per se. This is simply my own take on a film which affected me in a totally idiosyncratic way. And, as always…spoilers ahead. A Silent Voice revolves around two kids: a...

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