The Alex Archives

It has been a while since I saw Birdman, the first time I saw it was when my mom rented the DVD of the movie after it won Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards. It has always been on my mind, not only because it was directed by a Mexican (Alejandro Gonzales Iñarritu) but because it was an amazing movie filled with symbolism and perhaps a caution tale for the future. This year has been interesting for film and movie theaters, especially when the top 3 movies are not comic-book or sequel-related projects and one of them is a 3-hour historical drama. While franchise movies are all struggling at the Box Office.  Perhaps it is fitting this week, in a TikTok video, Martin Scorsese chose Birdman over The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , sparking a discussion on Twitter (now 𝕏) about the movie. This made me rewatch the film, it has been almost 2 years since I last saw it and I thought it was also a great mental exercise. What I found after this 3rd or 4th rewatch is a movie that not only sh...

Story  -   A small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino discovers his employer's new wife is his former lover. Cast  -  Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready Crew  -  Charles Vidor (Director), E.A. Ellington (Writer), Jo Eisinger (Writer), Marion Parsonnet (Writer) Runtime   - 110  minutes           Gilda, Are You Decent? I have rarely seen a movie from the 40s this unapologetically horny. Gilda is an amazing character, the best thing from the movie, played by Rita Hayworth, she is a woman capable of getting what she wants by using her attractiveness. Making strong eye contact with men, making them nervous and confusing them, is so amazing. I want to compare her to Marilyn Monroe but I have only seen 2 movies with her on it. Taking place in Argentina after WW2, it depicts perhaps some oddly specific things about the country, first the Tungsten cartels from which Gilda's husband Ballin Mudson -played by ...

Story  - When her family moves from the city to the suburbs, 11-year-old Margaret navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence. Cast  -  Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates Crew  -  Kell Fremon Craig (Director/Writer) Judy Blume (Writer) Runtime   - 107  minutes           We must, we must, we must increase our bust! I wish more girls could see themselves represented in the movies we make. Studios often focus on male teens and their groups (Goonies, The Oustiders, etc.) but it is so refreshing we see one that focuses on teen girls in a way that is realistic, endearing, and warm. It is no surprise I loved this movie as much as I did, after all, I love Turning Red and Only Yesterday, two movies that also focus on women, although in different ways. Still, I believe this market is underrepresented, and hopefully, we see that change soon. This movie basically winds down to a coming-of-age film, about...

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  -  Joe May's sensual drama of life in the Berlin underworld is in many ways the perfect summation of German filmmaking in the silent era: a dazzling visual style, a psychological approach to its characters, and the ability to take a simple and essentially melodramatic story and turn it into something more complex and inherently cinematic. Cast  -  Albert Steinrück, Else Heller, Gustav Fröhlich, Betty Amann Crew  -  Joe May (Director/Writer), Hans Székely (Writer), Rolf E. Vanloo (Writer) Runtime   -  94  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