Mike Goes To Movies

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Today marks the 20th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's final film, the infamous, sexually-charged Eyes Wide Shut. In structure and theme the film centres upon dreams and desire. Dr. Bill and Alice Harford, portrayed by A-listers (and then-married) Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, are a married couple heading a seemingly standard American nuclear family. Below the surface of the couple however lie deep-seated jealousies, desires and lust. Like most of Kubrick's films, Eyes Wide Shut requires multiple viewings - every scene and every shot is constructed to be a masterpiece in its own right with hidden meanings and secrets littered throughout. It is a testament to Kubrick's auteur that this film does not rank among his very best, however, given to most other filmmakers it would certainly be marked as such. Eyes Wide Shut is a voyeuristic experience into the erotic dreams of an upper-class New Yorker - here, Cruise's Dr. Bill. Upon hearing his wife...

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) At this point, director, Steven Soderbergh, is a well-worn name in the industry and he has had a long career making successful and highly acclaimed films through a variety of genres. However, in 1989, Soderbergh was just another aspiring unknown, and one who was about to surprise the world with his directorial debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape . The film would go on to jump-start the independent film movement prominent through the 1990's. It would also cement Soderbergh as a true, young talent; the film itself won Cannes' coveted Palme d'Or in '89, as well, it netted Soderbergh multiple award nominations for the film's script. Sex, Lies, and Videotape is an intricate and mature film about the inter-relations of four individuals and their sexual lives - desires, repressions and liasons. The film centres upon one married couple, the wife's younger sister and a friend of the husband who has recently returned to town. The catalys...