REVIEW: What We Left Unfinished (2021)
What happens to art when the political climate of a country is unstable and has an uncertain future? What if that art demands a lot of manpower and collaborative work and, of course, money? What is the life of a movie made under a regime…
REVIEW: Moonbound (2021)
One might not have expected an animated children’s film about German children who hang out with a talking beetle, to also serve as a polemic on the conflict between benevolent dictators and despotic freedom fighters. Ali Samadi Ahadi lulls you into a false sense of…
REVIEW: Pray Away (2021)
Hopefully you are lucky enough never to have encountered conversion therapy in real life. However you might have seen it depicted on screen as it’s been the subject of several queer films over the years. Jamie Babbit’s late nineties rom-com But I’m a Cheerleader takes…
REVIEW: The Suicide Squad (2021)
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad takes off like a bat out of hell, sprinting through its set-up with an air of surefooted arrogance. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Gunn seems to say, as he vaguely acknowledges the events of David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad—perhaps thinking that…
REVIEW: Ride the Eagle (2021)
Through writing and starring in Digging for Fire (2015), Win it All (2017) and starring in Drinking Buddies (2013), all directed by Joe Swanberg; as well as Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), directed by Colin Trevorrow – Jake Johnson has established and maintained his schlubby manchild…
REVIEW: Jungle Cruise (2021)
As one ride ends, another begins. It might be the cousin wanting to line up for the Mad Tea Party after disembarking Splash Mountain. Or, in this case, it might be Disney handing its flagship action-adventure attraction-based baton from Pirates of the Caribbean to Jungle…
REVIEW: The Green Knight (2021)
Medieval Knights, especially Arthurian ones of the Round Table, come with certain expected traits – honour, loyalty, chivalry, heroism, bravery… and Sir Gawain of the original epic poem is no exception. You may be surprised then, by the Gawain you find in David Lowery’s new…
REVIEW: Here After (2021)
There is no good way to start this one, I’m afraid, as one could turn Here After back to front and still not find much worth highlighting. Cristina Ricci comes to mind, being the promotional team’s royal flush, but is barely in it for more…
REVIEW: The Last Letter From Your Lover (2021)
A cosy romance may be the last thing you would expect as a follow up to the hedonistic Never Goin Back (2018) from director Augustine Frizzell, but it’s good that a new director is already showing range, especially when you consider that she’s also directed…
REVIEW: Old (2021)
A mind-twister, indeed, when strange things of the M. Night Shyamalan kind also exist beyond Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Entranced and thus inspired by the premise of the graphic novel Sandcastle written by Pierre-Oscar Lévy and drawn by Frederick Peeters, Old sees the filmmaker travel to…
REVIEW: Kandisha (2021)
It was a shock to the system to realise how, before the yet-set rollout of their novel and anticipated The Deep House, French filmmaking duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury have another film for horror fans — Kandisha. Perhaps with the extreme brains behind the…
REVIEW: Broken Diamonds (2021)
The thing about so many ‘mental health movies’ is that they ultimately resort to extreme examples of behaviours or situations in order to build and maintain drama. But, for so many people with mental health issues, there isn’t anything particularly cinematic about the day to…
REVIEW: Eyimofe (2021)
In the vibrant, bustling streets of Lagos, nothing comes easily or cheaply; the relentless nature of life and all its obstacles shapes this quietly stirring debut by Nigerian twin-brother directors Arie and Chuko Esiri. Eyimofe (This is my Desire) follows the loosely intertwined lives of…
