Retro Recs
I love covering new release films, but sometimes it can feel like finding a great new release is similar to looking for a needle in a haystack. There are obviously thousands of remarkable films from previous years that are worth checking out, but so few of them have I gotten the chance to write about. Hopefully this will help change that!
My goal with “Retro Recs” is not to write about films like “Casablanca” or “Citizen Kane” that everyone knows they should watch, but instead try to spotlight some more obscure movies that are worth the watch. If you have been watching movies for a long time, there are certainly going to be some editions of “Retro Recs” that you have seen, but hopefully it will give you a new perspective & make you want to revisit the film.
Also, I am applying a loose definition to retro. It won’t always be movies from 20-30 years ago. Sometimes it may be a movie from just a few years ago. My hope is to explore everything from the 50s all the way to the 2010s and eventually the 2020s.
'Midsommar' (2019) Review
Premise - “A couple travel to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.”
'You Can Count On Me' (2000) Review
Premise - “A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely seen younger brother returns to town.”
'Wolf of Wall Street' (2013) Review
Premise - “Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.”
'Do the Right Thing' (1989) Review
Premise - “Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors.”
'Love and Mercy' (2014) Review
Premise - “In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, Wilson (John Cusack, under the sway of a controlling therapist, finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.”
'Sicario' (2015) Review
Premise - “After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer receives a top assignment.”