Author Archives: Sartaj Govind Singh

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About Sartaj Govind Singh

Notes from a distant observer: “Sartaj is a very eccentric fellow with a penchant for hats. He likes watching films and writes about them in great analytical detail. He has an MA degree in Philosophy and has been known to wear Mickey Mouse ears on his birthday.”

Concise Review: Natural Born Killers (1995)

Natural Born Killers is a brutal and uniquely potent film. Its exploration of the media perpetuating the two main killers is fascinating and gut-wrenching. Oliver Stone evokes this idea throughout the entire picture. He makes the film feel like a … Continue reading

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Second Viewing: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

As much as I admire Pauline Kael’s approach of only seeing a film once, insofar as it forces the reviewer to come to firm opinion and yields an exciting immediacy. There is something to be said for the second viewing … Continue reading

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Review: Macbeth (2015)

Cinema has been kind to The Scottish Play. Orson Welles’ 1948 iteration impressed with its potent expressionist imagery despite its meagre budget and behind the scenes woes. The American literary critic Harold Bloom called Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 adaptation “the most … Continue reading

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Concise Review: Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction is an example of a rarely seen sophisticated and transcendent style over substance film. It would seem like a contradiction in terms to assert this, however, the influential 1994 picture warrants this claim in a few ways. Firstly, … Continue reading

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Concise Review: The Quiet Ones (2014)

The Quiet Ones is a frustrating if at times intelligent, fascinating and ultimately sly picture. It primarily impresses as being a period found footage film. The camera moves that come in the form of academy aspect ratio have this great … Continue reading

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Concise Review: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

At his best, Quentin Tarantino provides fascinating interpretations of schlocky and often overlooked genre fare. No where is this more apparent than in his 1992 directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs. The premise of the picture suggests that it is a heist … Continue reading

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Concise Review: Battle Royale (2000)

Battle Royale is a potent, violent and darkly comic cult film that delivers on being an interesting vision of dystopia and an illustration of teenage angst. It is this latter aspect that is the most engaging facet of the picture … Continue reading

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50th Post Special: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

SGS On Film has reached fifty posts and to commemorate this minor landmark, I am going to pay tribute to the late great filmmaker, Wes Craven. However, in stark contrast to the usual manner in which I discuss figures in … Continue reading

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Concise Review: The Rover (2014)

The Rover is a visually arresting and fascinating illustration of the nature of selfishness and savagery. In his second feature film, David Michôd has shown his true directorial trademark, which is providing a strong microcosm for the characters and the … Continue reading

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Half Way There: The Best Films of 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road Discovering the Mad Max films, this year have been a true revelation because of their unique protagonist and vision of a post-apocalyptic world. Fury Road reinvents not only the Mad Max series, but also the western … Continue reading

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