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Magnolia (1999)
Through its epic scale and high-wire, multilinear structure, Magnolia binds its sprawling ensemble of characters under a series of escalating coincidences, marking a great formal achievement in metaphysical filmmaking for a 28-year-old Paul Thomas Anderson.
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Casino Royale (2006)
Martin Campbell’s masterfully efficient set pieces paired with Daniel Craig’s complex performance of a man fighting with his ego thrillingly rejuvenates this classic archetype of British film, and together hold Casino Royale up as a remarkable piece of character-driven, action cinema.
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The Neon Demon (2016)
In turning his provocative, neon-tinted stylings to Hollywood’s cutthroat fashion industry in The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn quite literally puts his cast of models and actors under the knife, carving out a hellish underworld of cannibalistic cultism kept hidden behind a façade of attractiveness.
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
As Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings progresses deeper into its world of covert organisations and mystical Chinese villages, director Destin Daniel Cretton gradually turns up the elegant beauty of his landscapes and martial arts choreography, using both to bring an evocative sensuality to our hero’s journey of self-discovery.
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The Piano (1993)
Without a voice to bridge the gap between her mind and the exterior world, it is instead Ada’s music which becomes her purest form of communication in The Piano, carrying a rich, full-bodied expression of the Scotswoman’s restless soul through the beaches, forests, and colonies of 19th century New Zealand.
