Director: Autumn de Wilde Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart Given her appearances in the likes of High Life, Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria and The Cure For Wellness, any sighting of Mia Goth in the advanced previews of a movie now leads me to automatically assume it's going to be a weird/dour pressure-cooker experience where everything's liable to … Continue reading Review: Emma.
Director: Céline Sciamma Stars: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami Walking home from seeing Portrait of a Lady on Fire, I reached the crossing at a roundabout, pressed the small circular button and waited for the lights to change. Shimmying slightly through my glasses, the green man lit up clearly and I stepped onto the … Continue reading Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Director: Jeff Baena Stars: Alison Brie, John Ortiz, Toby Huss Alison Brie is Sarah, a wallflower-type in her 30's who works in a crafts store. In her spare time she enjoys horses (hence the name here) and her favourite TV show is a supernatural series called Purgatory. She also has a disconcerting habit of waking up … Continue reading Review: Horse Girl
Last year, when the Parasite press tour was still gaining momentum, writer/director Bong Joon-Ho was asked his opinion of the Academy Awards and, in typical joking fashion, he dismissed the ceremony as "local" and, by extension, not seen as particularly important on the world stage. It's delightful to think that director Bong goaded the Oscars into … Continue reading #OscarSoLocal – We Don’t Need Best International Picture Anymore
Director: Terrence Malick Stars: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Bruno Ganz It took 25 years for Terrence Malick to create three features; Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. Who among us would have predicted the six he has given us over the last decade? This late career run produced some astonishing if polarising work, as … Continue reading Review: A Hidden Life
Director: Cathy Yan Stars: Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco What to do about comic book movies? They're not going anywhere, at least not for the foreseeable. It's in vogue right now for 'highbrow' directors to vocally shit-talk them, and these comments are not without merit. These flicks are largely very similar to one … Continue reading Review: Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Director: Bong Joon-Ho Stars: Song Kang-Ho, Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong Throughout his career, writer/director Bong Joon-Ho has been preoccupied with matters of class and entitlement. From the underdog family at the centre of monster-movie riff The Host to the very premise of train-bound sci-fi Snowpiercer. Bong has a penchant for asking us to root for … Continue reading Review: Parasite
Director: Marielle Heller Stars: Matthew Rhys, Tom Hanks, Susan Kelechi Watson We didn't really have Mr Rogers in the UK, but we had - and we have - Tom Hanks. From the every-man goofiness of his early comedies, through the earnest '90s to the kind, middle-aged statesman of many a Steven Spielberg picture, Hanks has … Continue reading Review: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Director: Federico Atehortúa Arteaga Arteaga initially set out to make a documentary about the origins of Colombian cinema; itself a fertile ground for exploration. In the process of doing so, however, he came to realise that the medium's tentative first steps were inherently connected to the country's history of violence and civil unrest; something that … Continue reading Review: Mute Fire
Director: Trey Edward Shults Stars: Taylor Russell, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Alexa Demie Cast your mind back seven (!) years or so, and some of you might well remember the hard-swerve encountered while watching Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond The Pines, a film which very suddenly revealed itself to be episodic in nature, and whose focal character … Continue reading Review: Waves
Director: Nicolas Pesce Stars: Andrea Riseborough, John Cho, Frankie Faison Life and movies are filled with mysteries. One of the most puzzling movie mysteries of the 21st century is quite how Takashi Shimizu went from making such a thoroughly chilling entry in the prolific Japanese Grudge series (2002's Ju-On) only to find his brand of horror thoroughly … Continue reading Review: The Grudge (2020)
Every year we go and see movies; moving images that move us, that tell stories, that ask us to feel something, invite us into their micro-climates. One of the most significant methods by which this collaborative art forms asks of our attention is through music. A score - and source music - can serve different … Continue reading The 2010s: Music at the Movies
Year: 1995 Director: Spike Lee Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington, Harvey Keitel Last year Spike Lee's most flammable joint, Do The Right Thing, got itself a re-release and a Criterion Collection special edition. A belated victory lap for one of the most bold and distinctive American films of the 1980s. Do The Right Thing tends to be … Continue reading Why I Love… #110: Clockers
Director: Jay Roach Stars: Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron We are in the midst of a very slow-moving sea change in how women are treated and depicted in the entertainment industry. I kind of hate that it's only taken me two sentences to get to Harvey Weinstein, but here we are. His name may … Continue reading Review: Bombshell
Looking through the local cinema listings, it is will dismal acceptance that I note that A Hidden Life - the new opus from one of cinema's living legends - is not playing anywhere near me. A privileged woe, granted. Blame poor distribution, a lack of faith from cinema chains, or the happenstance of the first busy release … Continue reading Ranked: Terrence Malick
