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The Conversation: Drew Morton and Landon Palmer Discuss ‘The Straight Story’

The Conversation is a feature at Sound on Sight bringing together Drew Morton and Landon Palmer in a passionate debate about cinema new and old. For their fourth piece, they will discuss David Lynch’s film The Straight Story (1999). Drew’s Take I am in the midst of my 1999 class and I assigned two films I had yet to …

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Bloodline, Ep. 1.01-06: Compelling mystery driven by exceptional casting

Bloodline is all about deception. What’s beneath the surface, what we hide from the world and the lies we tell to protect ourselves and our families. The problem is, and the one that is explored in Bloodline, that it’s usually our families who know our deepest secrets anyways. And if you have a family like the Rayburns’ they are likely to use them against you at some point. What becomes clear in these first six episodes is that these are people who don’t let things go.

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De Palma’s ‘Carrie’: a simple story transformed into a visual masterpiece

It was the first film to be adapted from a Stephen King novel. Its leading ladies were acclaimed for their career-defining performances, and the film pushed its relatively unknown supporting cast into the limelight. It is one of the very few horror films to be recognised at the Academy Awards and has sincere spawned a musical, remakes, and a sequel. However, 40 years on since the publication of the original novel, nothing has captured the sheer horror of Brian De Palma’s 1976 film adaptation. So, what is it about Carrietta “Carrie” White that makes her so special?

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Brian De Palma’s ‘Carrie’ is nothing short of brilliant

This classic horror movie based on Stephen King’s first novel, about a pubescent girl with telekinetic powers, remains Brian De Palma’s best film. Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie White, a shy, mousy teenager who is the victim of both her evangelical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), and of her cruel high school classmates, who bully her constantly.

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David Lynch’s tryst at the Mouse House in ‘Straight Story’

The Straight Story Written by John Roach & Mary Sweeney Directed by David Lynch France/UK/USA, 1999 A film entitled The Straight Story seems like a lie in the bizarre hands of a director like David Lynch, famous for injecting art house storytelling and theater styling into his more mainstream fare. An adaptation of an Iowa farmer’s journey? …

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‘Deadfall’ falls dead with its lifeless characterizations and DOA plot

Deadfall Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky United States, 2012 Fargo has so embedded itself in the American film-going consciousness as a cold thriller, that anything with a suspense plot and snow now seems to warrant immediate comparisons, whether deserved or not. While many things can be leveled at Stefan Ruzowitzky’s thriller, including suspense and snow, Fargo­-like …

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Catching Up With A Classic: ‘Badlands’ shows Malick’s promise but offers a much different experience

Throughout January, SOS writers will be biting the bullet and finally sitting down with a film they feel like bad film buffs for not having seen already. Badlands Written and Directed by Terrence Malick USA, 1973 One of the most recognized films of 2011 was Terrence Malick’s ethereal and captivating The Tree of Life. The …

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