Blog — 3 Brothers Film

Satoshi Kon: Millennium Actress (2001)

Millennium Actress is a beautiful examination of the relationships between actors and the movies they make, and viewers and the movies they watch.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Satoshi Kon, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromAugust 25, 2020Satoshi Kon Retrospective, Satoshi Kon, Millennium Actress, Sadayuki Murai, Miyoko Shoji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shozo Iizuka, Shoko Tsuda, Hirotaka Suzuoko, Hisako Kyoda, Koichi Yamadera, Masane TsukayamaComment

Review: National Treasure (2004)

In 2020, National Treasure is as much a historical artifact as the American landmarks it features in its adventure narrative, but it’s still fun.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromAugust 19, 2020Jon Turteltaub, Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha, Christopher Plummer, National TreasureComment

Satoshi Kon: Perfect Blue (1997)

Satoshi Kon’s debut feature remains one of cinema’s best psychological thrillers and a scathing critique of exploitation in the entertainment industry.

Satoshi Kon, Reviews, Flash Back, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromAugust 18, 2020Satoshi Kon, Sadayuki Murai, Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis, Yoshikazu Takeuchi, Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji, Emiko Furukawa, Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon RetrospectiveComment

Table Talk: An American Pickle (2020)

Anders and Aren dig into HBO Max’s An American Pickle, examining it as a showcase for Seth Rogen and an investigation of the role of religion in modernity.

RoundtablesAnders BergstromAugust 12, 2020Table Talk, An American Pickle, Brandon Trost, Simon Rich, Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, JudaismComment

Review: The Predator (2018)

Shane Black’s latest entry to the Predator franchise has Black’s trademark humour, but is undone by sloppy narrative structure and preposterous attempts at timeliness.

Review: Extraction (2020)

Extraction is just as humourless and imperialistic as most modern American action movies, but at least it has good action.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromJuly 31, 2020Sam Hargrave, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Ande Parks, Fernando Leon Gonzalez, Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi, David Harbour, Extraction, NetflixComment

Review: Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)

The fight scenes are as impressive as ever, but the story crumbles under the weight of its propaganda messaging.

Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977) Reveals the Eschatological Divide Between Settler and Indigenous Australia

The Last Wave examines how colonialism manifests an eschatological divide that ripples out across the spiritual world.

Essays, Yesterday's Cinema, Most PopularAren BergstromJuly 24, 2020The Last Wave, Peter Weir, Tony Morphett, Petru Popescu, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnet, David Gulpilli, Fred Parslow, Vivean Gray, Nandjiwarra Amagula, Australia, colonialismComment

Review: The Walking Hills (1949)

John Sturges’ Western plays like a minor variation of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Review: Bad Education (2019)

Cory Finley’s Bad Education contains a great Hugh Jackman performance and gets at the heart of bad people who think they’re doing good.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromJuly 17, 2020Cory Finley, Mike Markowsky, Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Stephen Spinella, Annaleigh Ashford, Ray Romano, Bad EducationComment

Review: Capone (2020)

Josh Trank’s comeback is a deeply messy deconstruction of Al Capone, featuring a bizarre Tom Hardy as the dying gangster.

Reviews, Aren's Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromJuly 14, 2020Capone, Josh Trank, Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon, Al Sapienza, Kathrine Narducci, Noel Fisher, Kyle MacLachlanComment

Hot Docs 2020: Hong Kong Moments

An incredibly relevant doc about the Hong Kong protests.

Reviews, The Festival CircuitAnton BergstromJuly 10, 2020Hot Docs 2020Comment

Review: George Washington (2000)

Twenty years later, David Gordon Green’s debut feature George Washington remains a beautiful cinematic memory.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromJuly 7, 2020George Washington, David Gordon Green, Candace Evanofski, Curtis Cotton III, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee, Rachael Handy, Paul Schneider, Eddie Rouse, Janet TaylorComment

Review: Tremors (1990)

Tremors’ status as cult classic and staple of cable TV is a result of its sturdy filmmaking and fun vibe.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromJune 30, 2020Ron Underwood, Brent Maddock, S.S. Wilson, Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Victor WongComment

Table Talk: Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Anders and Anton discuss the new Spike Lee Vietnam War film, Da 5 Bloods, and how it fits into Lee’s on filmography, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the legacy of American imperialism in Southeast Asia.

RoundtablesAnders BergstromJune 26, 2020Table Talk, Spike Lee, war movie, drama, race, Vietnam, Delroy LIndo, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Paul Walter Hauser, Melanie Thierry, Jaspar Paakonen, Jean RenoComment

Review: The Harder They Fall (1956)

Humphrey Bogart’s final film is a bruising noir and a chance to watch the titan of Old Hollywood spar with Rod Steiger, another acting icon.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromJune 24, 2020The Harder They Fall, Mark Robson, film noir, Philip Yordan, Budd Schulberg, Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane Comment

Remembering Ian Holm

Anders and Aren reflect on the passing on Ian Holm, who brought a complexity and professionalism to beloved roles in The Lord of the Rings and Alien.

FeaturesAren BergstromJune 22, 2020Ian Holm, Remembering Ian Holm, The Lord of the Rings, Alien, The Fifth Element, Brazil, Time Bandits, The Miracle Maker, Hamlet, Ratatouille, Robin and Marian, The Sweet Hereafter, Naked Lunch, eXistenZComment

Review: Yi Yi: A One and a Two… (2000)

Much like a modern version of Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953), Yi Yi is a lovely exploration of the generational dynamics of a single family.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromJune 17, 2020Yi Yi: A One and a Two, Edward Yang, Wu Nien-jen, Elaine Jin, Issey Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Hsi-Sheng Chen, Su-Yun Ko, Lawrence Ko, Taiwanese New Wave, Yi YiComment

Table Talk: Contagion (2011)

Anton and Aren take an extended look back at Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and consider its narrative structure, filmmaking style, and whether it’s now a modern classic in light of COVID-19.

RoundtablesAnton BergstromJune 15, 2020Contagion, Steven Soderbergh, Scott Z. Burns, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, COVID-19Comment

Review: Memento (2000)

Almost 20 years after its release, Memento remains a stunning encapsulation of Christopher Nolan’s obsessions as a director, and one of the very best neo-noir films.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromJune 10, 2020Memento, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Callum Keith Rennie, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harriet Sansom Harris, Larry Holden, noir Comment