Articles by Michael Pflug
Charlotte Gray
Based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks and directed by Gillian Armstrong, the World War Two drama ’Charlotte Gray’ is a film with much potential. Full of sweeping vistas and heartfelt performances, the movie looks and sounds grand but is ultimately [...]
The Great Mouse Detective
The Walt Disney Studio’s animated fare from the 1970s through the mid-1980s is much maligned among animation fans and it’s certainly true that no real classics emerged during that period. Still, a fair number of highly entertaining films are included [...]
The Royal Tenenbaums
I first encountered the work of Wes Anderson and his cohorts the Wilson brothers (Luke and Owen) back in 1996 with their debut film, "Bottle Rocket." It’s hard to explain exactly what it was about that quirky little movie that captured my [...]
Storytelling
A Todd Solondz film is not a happy film. Sure, one of his previous efforts was entitled "Happiness" but anyone who’s seen the movie can attest to the fact that happy it isn’t. No, a Todd Solondz film is typically a decidedly uncomfortable [...]
The Desert Rats
Almost from the moment that fighting began in North Africa during the Second World War, Hollywood started churning out movies set in that desolate yet compelling environment. Something about the swirling desert sands and the rapid style of mechanized [...]
Tender Mercies
’Tender Mercies’ was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1984 and won two — Best Actor for Robert Duvall and Best Original Screenplay for Horton Foote. Reading just a synopsis of the story one wouldn’t immediately think of ’Tender [...]
Dark Blue World
The summer of 1940 saw one of history’s most important battles being waged in the skies above England. The vastly outnumbered and outgunned Royal Air Force managed to fend off the mighty German Luftwaffe and their success in the sky saved Britain from [...]