Articles written by Martin G. Wood

The Magician (1958) may be the great auteur's most complete film, mesmerizing audiences with dark humor, horror, psycho-drama, and even a touch of farce.

Oct 14, 2010 - Martin G. Wood

Two poets (McKay and Cummings) see Spring as the season for hope and renewal, while a third (Millay) holds a dissenting opinion.

Mar 13, 2010 - Martin G. Wood

Capsule reviews of two recent overlooked independent films that subtly capture the spirit of J.D. Salinger's writing.

Jan 31, 2010 - Martin G. Wood

Starring Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, Withnail and I is a desperately funny, drunken romp, about the unwashed lives of two sad sacks in search of something better.

Jan 1, 2010 - Martin G. Wood

Eating Poetry leads the reader down a mysterious literary digestive tract, while The Invention of Cuisine views a plate of food as a palate, full of primitive imaginings.

Nov 14, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Food, Inc. is a compelling and disturbing film about the corporatization of America's farms, and the damage done to America's food safety and personal welfare.

Nov 3, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Three spooky movies for those with discerning tastes; films that once haunted art house cinemas in the past, will continue to spook indie film fans in the future.

Sep 30, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Four recent horror films for Halloween revelers stuck in a rut, looking to have their holiday film-fest freshened with a cinematic blood transfusion.

Sep 29, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Spider Baby is genuinely creepy, and in many ways surpasses Hitchcock's Psycho in style and humor to capture the poignancy of what it is to be freaks in a world gone mad.

Sep 28, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Co-written and directed by Joachim Trier, Reprise is an insightful film about the writer's life, and the compromises an artist makes for love and friendship.

Sep 25, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Delving into the primal nature of violence does not distinguish David Cronenberg as a filmmaker, but, what does distinguish him, is sex: Sex as violence, violence as sex.

Sep 24, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

John Lahr's 1978 biography tells the wildly entertaining and compelling story of the incomparable 1960's British playwright Joe Orton, who was murdered at the age of 34.

Sep 23, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

David Gordon Green appears to reach his dramatic pinnacle with Snow Angels, and the indie director finally answers the Hollywood call with a comedy, Pineapple Express.

Sep 22, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

One of the great American film makers of his generation, David Gordon Green's early, dramatic independent films could best be described as cinematic tone poems.

Sep 21, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Ingmar Bergman wrote and directed Autumn Sonata, and as is implicit in the title, the film establishes a tone of somber reflection, on life, loss, and regret.

Sep 20, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

The Conqueror Worm and "Alone" are two of the more thoughtful-provoking poems by the Godfather of Goth, Edgar Allan Poe.

Sep 18, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky is a stirring poem, especially when read unencumbered by serendipitous subtext (though Lewis Carroll makes such inclinations unavoidable).

Sep 17, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Louise Glück's challenging poems, Gretel in Darkness and Mock Orange, tap into deep-seated anxieties through the use of sense memories and a childhood fairy tale.

Sep 11, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

The following four poems by the great American poet Carl Sandburg, come tied together by the autumnal equinox, but also compliment one another in more subtle ways.

Sep 5, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Godzilla in Mexico from Roberto Bolano's poetry collection, The Romantic Dogs, foreshadows themes found in his mysterious, politically-charged novels.

Sep 1, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Quentin Tarantino is the modern master of the conversation piece; never failing to provide audiences with something to talk about; through keen and provocative dialogue.

Aug 26, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Written, directed, and produced by Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep is a mesmerizing slice-of-life; a snapshot portrait of the African-American experience in 1970's L.A.

Aug 12, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Billy Wilder's Ace In The Hole is a blistering condemnation of America's vulturous nature; with acid cynicism, the film doesn't skewer America, the film disembowels.

Aug 6, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Sex and Death to the Age 14 touches on many of the themes Spalding Gray would explore with great success, in the course of a life and career marred by depression.

Jul 20, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Whatever Works is Woody Allen's starkest comedy since Deconstructing Harry (1997), and one of his best in over a decade, thanks to another sharp turn by Larry David.

Jul 5, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

An insecure Barbie-girl courts danger when she forms a fragile love triangle with her short-tempered punk boyfriend, and a mysterious forked-tongue tattoo artist.

Jun 29, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Bloody violent, and aggressive to the core, Haute Tension (or High Tension) challenges the notion that the indestructible horror movie monster can't be deconstructed.

Jun 23, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Poet Kim Addonizio correlates cinematic scenes and scenarios with memories; horror and dread and death as interchangeable parts in reality, indistinguishable from life.

Jun 18, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Woody Allen's signature mix of sexual politics and sparkling dialogue, is transferred from the city to the country, for an overlooked gem that's light, breezy, and fun.

May 22, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Two passionate poems by Arthur Rimbaud and D.H. Lawrence; love and lust, gleaned from the summer season; the glory of uninhibited abandon.

May 21, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

While not fully heavy, the tone of Summer Dawn and Have a Nice Day is more melancholic; proving the old maxim, the best comedy is born of great tragedy.

May 19, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Before Summer Rain, Along The Sun-Drenched Roadside, and Slumber Song, are three poems that express Rainer Maria Rilke's passion for natural beauty.

May 19, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

A seemingly happy couple become wrapped up in a mystery; involving videotapes, spooky messages, and a troubled relationship from the past.

May 13, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Director Louis Malle and Jazz legend Miles Davis came together for the creation of Elevator To The Gallows, a film noir classic on par with the best American noir.

May 12, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Pierrot Le Fou is a Pop Art Bonnie and Clyde; written and directed with Godard's special brand of cultural criticism; and loaded with cartoon violence and comic mishaps.

May 11, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Thought For A Sunshiny Morning, Garden-Spot, A Dream Lies Dead, and Epitaph, are poems by Dorothy Parker; expressing an acute interest in nature, desire, and mortality.

May 8, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Dorothy Parker's three bittersweet Modernist poems lamenting the most melancholia period in waking life, night fall, are spiked intermittently with her trademark wit.

May 7, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Tombstones in the Starlight is separated into six parts, about six individual characters, of which Dorothy Parker devotes four lines of verse.

May 6, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

By insinuating Freud into his poem about science and religion, MacLeish implied ego could threaten progressive thought.

May 5, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Ghosts of long dead musicians visit Bukowski as a young man, in one of his darkest hours, and inspires him to carry on, in the face of poverty and desolation.

May 4, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Fires on the Plain follows the harrowing adventures of one soldier's desperate attempt to reach a military field hospital, or die trying. A war movie ahead of its time.

Apr 30, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Based on the popular novel by Joan Lindsey and adapted for the screen by Cliff Green, Peter Weir's Picnic At Hanging Rock remains one of the great mysteries.

Apr 29, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

The Hit is a surprisingly thoughtful, and violent character study wrapped in an action film; featuring a stellar performance by Terence Stamp.

Apr 28, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys) follows a fairly standard Hitchcockian formula: the wrong person(s) at the wrong time carried away by events beyond their control.

Apr 27, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Carlos Reygadas' Japón is heavily influenced by Andrei Tarkovsky's naturalistic style; but, falters in an effort to straddle the fence between different worlds.

Apr 27, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

While not strictly a concept album in the classical sense; Pretzel Logic does tell a compelling story about street-level desolation.

Apr 24, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry), The Wind Will Carry Us is a haunting and beautiful character study about living in the moment.

Apr 23, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

As the iconic Janus Films logo once portended something special to theater goers, so too the Criterion label guarantees the same for DVD enthusiasts.

Apr 22, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Pedro Almodóvar's Volver is a sweet, funny, and endearing meditation on death. Not dark, or scary, or even a surrealistic fantasy; Volver is an invigorating human drama.

Apr 21, 2009 - Martin G. Wood

Godard's 13-minute short film about a man who wastes no time in explaining why his girlfriend is to blame for their break-up holds wide appeal for cinephiles.

Apr 20, 2009 - Martin G. Wood