Author Archive


Name: Loukas Tsouknidas
Location: Athens, Greece
Reject Since: December 2006
Email: loukas@filmschoolrejects.com

Bio: Loukas Tsouknidas reviews films for www.in2life.gr and co-publishes the bi-monthly pdf magazine “monkie” (www.monkie.gr) while waiting for his attempts at fiction to be appreciated. He firmly believes that you really can sweat by writing and remakes are the work of very very sick people.


Posts by Loukas Tsouknidas:

Acquaint Yourself With ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’

Acquaint Yourself With ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’

When acerbic critic Sheridan Whiteside slips on the front steps of a provincial Ohio businessman’s home and breaks his hip, he and his entourage take over the house indefinitely.

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Mourn Your Doomed Existence at the ‘Port of Shadows’

Mourn Your Doomed Existence at the ‘Port of Shadows’

Even if it’s a lot more romantic, which makes it feel kind of dated, Port of Shadows plays like a song to which you know the words and the ending, but find yourself humming it over and over again.

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Old Ass Movies: Go West With ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’

Old Ass Movies: Go West With ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’

The Ox-Bow Incident is the story of a lynching that went right, but in the wrong way. Simple as an old man’s morality tale and painfully to the point, it covers a timeless debate concerning law, justice and the misconceptions they suffer in our hands and minds.

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Discover the Class Struggle of ‘Room at the Top’

Discover the Class Struggle of ‘Room at the Top’

Room at the Top is one of the first “kitchen sink” dramas that altered the British cinema’s status in cinematic history. But historical context aside, it’s a compelling drama, with a timeless premise, crafty screenwriting and precise directing.

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Try As You May, You Can’t Avoid ‘The Killers’

Try As You May, You Can’t Avoid ‘The Killers’

Ernest Hemingway’s famous short story The Killers is a cynical prelude to an unavoidable murder and has inspired two feature films since its first publication. The 1946 old ass version was directed by Robert Siodmak in typical film-noir style and was Burt Lancaster’s film debut.

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Discover Your Dark Secrets in Clouzot’s ‘The Raven’

Discover Your Dark Secrets in Clouzot’s ‘The Raven’

A poison-pen letter has reached the hands of Laura, a social worker married to the local psychiatrist, Dr. Vorzet, regarding Dr. Rémy Germain and accusing him of severe moral atrocities. Soon, everyone is getting letters.

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Discover the Intimacy of Class Warfare in ‘Look Back in Anger’

Discover the Intimacy of Class Warfare in ‘Look Back in Anger’

The remnants of the class system keep things tense between two lovers from different backgrounds. “You’re hurt because everything is changed and Jimmy’s hurt because everything is the same.”

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Steal the Wrong Wallet in ‘Pickup on South Street’

Steal the Wrong Wallet in ‘Pickup on South Street’

A small time grifter picks the wrong pocket and ends up in the middle of a federal espionage case that gets tangled up in Cold War sentiments and noir sensibilities.

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Discover the Western Comedy of ‘Destry Rides Again’

Discover the Western Comedy of ‘Destry Rides Again’

Destry Rides Again still delivers honest fun and a couple of memorable dialogs. Plus, the birth of a great western actor and one hell of a catfight!

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Discover the Unusual Comedy of ‘The Horse’s Mouth’

Discover the Unusual Comedy of ‘The Horse’s Mouth’

Alec Guinness gets his first and only writing credit and dominates the screen as an artist who can’t escape an insane supporting cast no matter how mean he gets.

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Find Timeless Relevance ‘When a Woman Ascends the Stairs’

Find Timeless Relevance ‘When a Woman Ascends the Stairs’

One can learn a lot from a country’s old ass movies, especially if they’re as fresh and universally relevant as Mikio Naruse’s When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, one of his long overlooked works of cinematic excellence.

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Discover Mitchum, Douglas, and Film-Noir in ‘Out of the Past’

Discover Mitchum, Douglas, and Film-Noir in ‘Out of the Past’

Film fans will see a striking resemblance between this classic and the storyline for A History of Violence. Just when you thought you were out – they pull you back in. Isn’t that how it always works out?

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Loukas Checks in With Our First Quantum of Solace Review!

Loukas Checks in With Our First Quantum of Solace Review!

Our European correspondent Loukas checks in with an early review of Quantum of Solace from across the pond, and it looks like it’s just as badass as we’d hoped for.

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See the Courtroom Through the Eyes of ‘12 Angry Men’

See the Courtroom Through the Eyes of ‘12 Angry Men’

Every week, Film School Rejects presents a film that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents: 12 Angry Men.

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Discover Revolution with Viva Zapata!

Discover Revolution with Viva Zapata!

Explore the depths of the Zapata’s Mexican Revolution – or at least Elia Kazan and John Steinbeck’s version. And did we mention Marlon Brando’s involved?

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Discover the Fine Art of Thievery in Bresson’s Pickpocket

Discover the Fine Art of Thievery in Bresson’s Pickpocket

Every Sunday, Film School Rejects presents a film that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents Pickpocket.

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Greed and Madness in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Greed and Madness in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Every week, Film School Rejects presents a movie that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

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The Grim Reality of ‘Los Olvidados’

The Grim Reality of ‘Los Olvidados’

Every Sunday, Film School Rejects presents a film that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This Week, Old Ass Movies Presents: Los Olvidados.

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Early Review: Iron Man May Just Rock Your World

Early Review: Iron Man May Just Rock Your World

Our own super-sleuth Loukas Tsouknidas checks in from overseas with an awesome early review of Iron Man. As you can see, the hype may all be worth it, after all.

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The Counterfeiters Movie Review

The Counterfeiters Movie Review

The Nazi reign in Central Europe left, besides it’s horrific legacy, a great deal of fascinating stories to be told. One of those, the recount of “Operation Bernhard”, is the theme of this year’s subtitled Oscar winner from Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, The Counterfeiters. Not only of historical interest, but morally diverse and fairly entertaining too.

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