Director: George Clooney Stars: Matt Damon, Noah Jupe, Glenn Fleshler Poor George Clooney, he just can't seem to get a break. Go back 20 years or so and that statement would sound ludicrous; he was the biggest name in Hollywood (whether he wanted to be or not) and could have the pick of projects to … Continue reading Review: Suburbicon
Director: Matt Spicer Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is the kind of girl who, if you don't invite her to your wedding, she'll crash anyway and mace you in the face to get even. She's not a stable person. And so it follows that her relationship with social … Continue reading Review: Ingrid Goes West
Director: Dee Rees Stars: Carey Mulligan, Jonathan Banks, Mary J Blige Dee Rees follows Pariah and Bessie with this Netflix Original; an adaptation of a novel by Hillary Jones, a period piece, a treaty on racism and post-war displacement in America, and a serious prestige picture ready for the upcoming awards season. The question of eligibility hangs … Continue reading Review: Mudbound
Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie Stars: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress The millstone of starring in a widely derided young adult franchise has spurred Twilight star Robert Pattinson into a series of increasingly impressive independent roles which have rehabilitated his credentials to the point that his involvement is now a draw rather than a concern. … Continue reading Review: Good Time
Director: Ivan I. Tverdovsky Stars: Natalya Pavlenkova, Dmitry Groshev, Irina Chipozhenko In Agnieszka Smoczynska's 2015 fable The Lure (reviewed on here just a couple of weeks ago), the growing of a mighty fishtail was a potent symbol for sexual development in its focal young women. One might therefore assume that the appearance (again from Eastern Europe) of … Continue reading Review: Zoology
Director: Paul King Stars: Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant Paul King's first Paddington film had little to prove, aside from confounding fears of what might have been done to Michael Bond's beloved bear. One only has to look at the trailer for the forthcoming Peter Rabbit movie to see how a staple of British childhood can … Continue reading Review: Paddington 2
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Stars: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan "It was very Lynchian," I overheard a gentleman tell his wife upon leaving the screening of The Killing Of A Sacred Deer that I attended, as the varied audience tried to get a handle on what they'd just been through. Now, everyone is most certainly entitled to … Continue reading Review: The Killing Of A Sacred Deer
Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore Stars: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn Here's a fun bit of egocentric trivia nobody cares about; last December when I was compiling my top 25 movies of the year countdown (and oh how I'd reshuffle that now), Bad Moms was most definitely on the shortlist. I didn't review it in the … Continue reading Review: A Bad Moms Christmas
Director: Sean Baker Stars: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe A couple of years back Sean Baker came to some people's attention for Tangerine, a joyous Christmas movie that gained soundbite currency for being filmed wholly on an iPhone. This freestyling spirit was warmly embraced and was more than befitting for the movie's "just go and … Continue reading Review: The Florida Project
Director: Luca Guadagnino Stars: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg Food and sex have long been intermingled in art, with all manner of delicacies plummed for their erotic potentiality; the echoes of bodily shapes keying us in to the artist's intent. With that come the complexities of sexuality; of things deemed acceptable or not, illicit … Continue reading Review: Call Me By Your Name
