The Alex Archives

             "There's plain few problems that can't be solved with a little sweat and hard work."           Western is a genre as old as cinema itself, and it has in it everything that America represents or did at one point. However, as much as it is an American genre, it does lack one of the key aspects of its culture: religion. I am not talking about the imagery of Christ or the occasional encounters with preachers and churches, but rather the hope and sense of community that people found in their faith. I have read many reviews about this film and comparisons with Shane (1953) are all too common, especially on Letterboxd, and while I have yet to see the movie, I can see its influence, especially in the way it tries to portray heroism and doing the right thing for others. Pale Rider is a product of a dying genre, one that started to become smaller and more emotional. Long are the days of Native American fights with the Coloni...

            "A new age has begun, an age of freedom. And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it."           ​It is hard to describe a movie from the past two decades that has had as much impact on young men as 300 . Even when we compare it to films like Fight Club , Drive , or John Wick , 300 seems to speak in a way that almost any man is captured by its aesthetics and mythology. To dismiss a movie, especially one with such magnitude and power as "popcorn entertainment," is at best, ignorant, and at worst, a facilitator of its message and, in the case of this film, its cryptofascist message. Let us be clear for a second: movies, like any other art form, are not created in a vacuum by soulless and thoughtless people. The zeitgeist, culture, time period, and events all affect the media we consume, produce, create, and enjoy. German cinema from the 1930s and 40s served as a way to understand the Führer pro...

             "There's a reason for everything. There's always a plan"           Los fines de semana todos tenemos nuestros propios rituales, lavar la ropa, salir a hacer las compras y de vez en cuando, ver una película de comedia nunca está de más. No concuerdo con la idea que Heaven Can Wait es absurda en su premisa, incluso Dios puede equivocarse y en una burocracia algunos procesos son tan ambiguos que remover a alguien antes de tiempo es algo que podemos ver todo el tiempo. Lo que logra Warren Beatty y Elaine May en términos del guion es una mezcla de fantasía y absurdismo que no solo hace a uno reír, nos hace pensar en nuestras propias vidas y que haríamos si se nos diera otra oportunidad.  Si bien el personaje de Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty) busca satisfacer sus deseos terrenales y cumplir su sueño de jugar en el Super Bowl uno se da cuenta de que, a pesar de tener todo el dinero del mundo, al entrar en el cuerpo d...

  Cast  - Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone. Kevin Costner  - Director           "Looks like we got ourselves a bad man right here."           ​​For people, the idea of spending their time in a theater is becoming more and more difficult. Prices are increasing and the variety of films one can watch is not particularly attractive. Ironically, we are now seeing the proliferation of movies with a runtime that exceeds the 3-hour mark, from the ones that have been released not all are box office successes like Oppenheimer , in the case of Killers of the Flower Moon , even after its 10 nominations at the 95th Academy Awards it only made half of its production budget, naturally it is not hard to imagine that the casual viewer will be reluctant to see a Western with that duration, which sadly Horizon was. I think we can all agree that Westerns are a thing of the past, while Neo-Westerns keep exploring th...

   Synopsis  -   While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. Cast  -  Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced. Crew  -  Fede Álvarez (Director/Writer), Rodo Sayagues (Writer) Runtime   - 119  minutes           "I can't lie about your chances. But you have my sympathies." ​Are we stuck on a time loop? Is this like a twisted version of Groundhog Day? This is reality but sadly this is also how Hollywood feels nowadays, we are constantly being reminded of the past through different media, from film reboots and legacy sequels to new Television adaptations and spin-offs and even the constant referencing in music and album covers. It is starting to dwell on the audience that, if they want to see something original they might need to search deeper into the sea of "content" that is av...

Story  - After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal. Cast  -  Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell Crew  -  David Fincher (Director), Andrew Kevin Walker (Writer), Alexis Nolent (Writer), Luc Jacamon (Writer) Runtime   - 118  minutes          

Story  -  A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy. Cast  -  John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brenan, Angie Dickinson, Claude Akins Crew  -  Howard Hawks (Director), Jules Furthman (Writer), Leigh Brackett (Writer), B. H. McCampbell (Writer) Runtime   - 141  minutes          

Story  -  Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn't save Kennedy, but he's determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president. Cast  -  Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo Crew  -  Wolfgang Petersen (Director) Jeff Maguire (Writer) Runtime  - 128 minutes          

Story  -  Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms. Cast  -  Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Rmma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern Crew  -  Greta Gerwig (Director/Writer) Runtime  - 135 minutes          

Story - The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants. Cast - Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, Salma Hayek Crew - Chloé Zhao (Director/Writer), Patrick Burleigh (Writer), Ryan Firpo (Writer), Kaz Firpo (Writer) Runtime - 156 minutes          

Story  -  An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him. Cast  -  Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young Crew  -  Sidney Lumet (Director), Waldo Salt (Writer), Normal Wexler (Writer) Runtime  -  130 minutes          

Story  -  A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process. Cast  -  Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Judith Vittet, Daniel Emilfork Crew  -  Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Director/Writer), Marc Caro (Director/Writer), Gilles Adrien (Writer) Runtime  -  108 minutes          

The Story - A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind. Cast - John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandiwe Newton Crew - Roland Emmerich (Director/Writer) Runtime - 158 minutes