You can’t just stamp ‘noir’ on something and make it a noir. Not now, not ever
Category: Reviews
US
Everyone knows Jordan Peele wants to hold up a mirror to society; no one thought he’d take it so literally. Us, more than most films this year, will suffer from the weight of expectation. Get […]
WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY
Recounting lesser-known events and their reasons for obscurity in the life of Massachusetts poet Emily Dickinson (Molly Shannon), Wild Nights With Emily takes a few less than conventional approaches
REVISITING MAGIC MIKE XXL
This author has never before written a second review for any film. But then there’s Magic Mike XXL
POLAR – BAD
A rare deed of terrible filmmaking emerging from a unique combination of guileless over-confidence and frightful neglect, Polar is one to scroll past
GLASS
Many have and will talk about what Glass is. More important is what it isn’t. Glass, nor it’s quintessential precursors Unbreakable or Split, are concerned with the cavalcade or canon of superhero behemoths to dominate […]
VELVET BUZZSAW
‘Art is dangerous,’ at least to this author, remains one of the most frustratingly adapted, frequently used turns of phrase in an industry that as Velvet Buzzsaw entreaties can become obsessed with itself. Artists are […]
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
In a year saturated with Spider-Man and Marvel a film with conceivably the worst timing shows you that quality can and will trump all. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is one of those few films that […]
BODIED
This author has only ever seen one film twice during a single Festival run. That was Bodied. Bodied will very likely will be the standard-bearer and standard for its particular subgenre of satire and comedy that […]
WIDOWS
Widows is a film that takes itself very seriously. That’s fine; dramas, and heist thrillers at that, can take themselves as seriously as they want, provided there aren’t getaway car-sized holes in the plot. The […]
THE SINNER – SEASON 2
The Sinner is quickly becoming one of the best thrillers on US television – even if the second season isn’t quite a match for the first. Benefiting greatly from star Jessica Biel, here returning off-screen […]
CAM
Psychological thrillers are best when they’re relatable and (hopefully) original. ‘Cam’ ticks both boxes with camgirl Alice (Madeline Brewer from “The Handmaid’s Tale”) aka Lola facing the existential dread of being locked out of her […]
CREED II
For a movie that ticks all the boxes Creed II is a huge miscalculation. An engaging one if that, the sequel is something more akin to (while somewhat loathe to use this comparison) what The […]
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
For such a well known actress, Melissa McCarthy is strangely underrated. Flexing her considerable comic and dramatic chops as early as those first seasons of Gilmore Girls to later find broader fame with Bridesmaids and […]
ROMA
Roma deserves to be seen on the big screen – do yourself a favour and see it before it hits Netflix, and then see it again. The streaming platform have done well with this acquisition […]
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
A contender for one of the worst films of the year, look elsewhere than Anna and the Apocalypse. A small Welsh town, an encroaching Christmas; carols, families, seasons greetings and a horde of the undead. […]
THE COACH & RUSSIAN RESURRECTION DIRECTOR NICHOLAS MAKSYMOW ON THE FESTIVAL’S OPENING FILM
Films are rarely as ideally timed as The Coach. Fresh off the Russian team’s stellar rise to the upper echelons of the FIFA World Cup tally board to the thrill and against the expectations of […]
SGT. STUBBY: AN AMERICAN HERO
Australians will likely know the tale of Simpson and his donkey – staples of the World War who famously ferried injured soldiers to safety. Perhaps better known to American audiences is Sgt. Stubby, a terrier […]
JOURNEY’S END
War epics more often than not revolve around the key or decisive battles, the grand, sweeping calls to arms or the impact, whatever it may be, of victory and defeat. Not this one. Centred on […]
TRANSMILITARY
Documentaries can recount, expound or explain so much – but it’s always better when they’re right there. Chronicling the struggles and campaign by members of the transgender community who have enlisted in the US Armed […]
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