A MATRIX OF CONNECTIONS For a long time, I avoided watching The Thirteenth Floor (above) due to the name Roland Emmerich in the credits. Emmerich was responsible in one way or another for such turkeys as the American Godzilla remake and 10,000 B.C.  However, prompted by Bright Lights After Dark commenter, Hal O’Brien, I finally screened the film ... read more »

I had just about given up on gangster films as a genre. To me, a gangster film is only as interesting as the subculture(s) it reflects, and what can one say about the Italian mafia subculture that hasn’t already been said 100 times over, thanks to Coppola, Scorsese, David Chase, et al.? Likewise, in recent ... read more »

He must! Or, at least, its two leading actors. He cast Barbara Sukowa (above) in M. Butterfly – gifted as she is, she rarely gets cast in anything these days – and he cast the equally gifted Armin Mueller-Stahl (above) as a scary Russian crime boss in the upcoming Eastern Promises.