Director: Sarah Gavron Stars: Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, Shaneigha-Monik Greyson Sarah Gavron first came to my attention with her quirky, singular documentary on life in a remote Greenland hamlet, Village at the End of the World. That film prominently featured a young man often dissatisfied and at odds with his environment. Gavron's latest - a narrative … Continue reading Review: Rocks
Director: Cory Finley Stars: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan COVID-19 has been bad for cinemas, undeniably, but also bad for films. While all the summer's planned blockbusters managed to get a pass - delayed until, yknow, whenever - it is most commonly the lower and mid-budget movies that have been allowed to slip through … Continue reading Review: Bad Education
Director: Eliza Hittman Stars: Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin Eliza Hittman's second feature Beach Rats was one of my favourite films of the last decade, though I never wrote about it here on The Lost Highway Hotel. Nevertheless, her sympathetic focus on American youth and her keen observational eye meant that whatever came next would … Continue reading Review: Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Director: Bertrand BonelloStars: Wislanda Louimat, Mackenson Bijou, Louise Labeque, "Listen, white world... as our dead roar..."One of the more complacent - yet valid - truisms of western cinema might just be that the zombie movie has been "done to death". And if overexposure hasn't killed it on the big screen, The Walking Dead has left practically … Continue reading Review: Zombi Child
Year: 1982 Director: Robert Altman Stars: Karen Black, Cher, Sandy Dennis The weather is scorching. Being a hopeless cinephile, a heatwave first and foremost gets me thinking about 'hot' films. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Wake In Fright. Body Heat etc. Movies defined by sweltering climates, in which the air seems sticky and the actors perspire for our … Continue reading Why I Love… #105: Come Back To The 5 And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Director: Barry Jenkins Stars: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King In 2005 my grandmother succumbed to bowel cancer in our home and I could hear her dying cries. I was laid up at the time following corrective knee surgery. That same summer my sister's partner was murdered. And I got my heart broken, maybe the … Continue reading Review: If Beale Street Could Talk
Director: David Lowery Stars: Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck The idea of legacies have haunted David Lowery's work lately. In 2017's A Ghost Story, deceased Casey Affleck was sent careering through his own life and love, covered up by a white sheet. The Old Man & The Gun, written and directed by Lowery and based on … Continue reading Review: The Old Man & The Gun
Director: Sebastián Lelio Stars: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola Hot off of an Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film (A Fantastic Woman released in the UK earlier this year), Sebastián Lelio cools off considerably with this 2017 holdover; a fatally overwrought tale of forbidden love in the orthodox Jewish community of North London. Community … Continue reading Review: Disobedience
Director: John Carroll Lynch Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Barry Shebaka Henley One of the (many) pleasures of last year's Twin Peaks revival was the precious scenes of Harry Dean Stanton reprising his role of Carl Rodd from 1992's Fire Walk With Me. His involvement added little to the typically strange plot machinations, but he added … Continue reading Review: Lucky
Director: Paul Schrader Stars: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Philip Ettinger Paul Schrader has directed many films over the years and written many more, including Taxi Driver. Unquestionably the film he is most often praised for, Scorsese's realisation of his screenplay, together with Robert De Niro's iconic performance, locked it's status as a cinematic classic. Whatever Schrader may … Continue reading Review: First Reformed
Director: Debra Granik Stars: Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Jeff Kober Will (Ben Foster) is a war veteran suffering the after effects of his experiences. Rejecting the clutter, chaos and waste of the modern world, he has decided to live in the woods, retreating into a dense sprawl of Oregon parkland. With him is his … Continue reading Review: Leave No Trace
Director: Xavier Legrand Stars: Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria While I have tried to avoid outright plot spoilers, I recommend seeing the film before reading the review in this instance. This striking debut feature from Xavier Legrand is being sold - quite deliberately - as a modest kitchen sink drama, one liable to draw … Continue reading Review: Custody
Director: Steven Spielberg Stars: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson In January of 2017 just a few short hours after his inauguration, President Donald Trump began a war with the press. It's a situation that has perpetuated, and now dominates the perception of his time in office. That war, over the veracity of the stories … Continue reading Review: The Post
Director: Martin McDonagh Stars: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson Culpability hangs heavy over the residents of Ebbing, Missouri in Martin McDonagh's latest film. In an early scene, embittered and grieving resident Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) whips out a flashy piece of dialogue aimed at the local pastor, more or less accusing him of culpability … Continue reading Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
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
