REVIEW: Playground (LFF 2021)
Written and directed by Laura Wandel, Playground is the kind of film I feel could give parents nightmares, or if you were bullied yourself as a child, give you a vivid reminder of your own experiences. Seven-year-old Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) is nervous about starting a…
REVIEW: I’m Your Man (2021)
For some reason, a small subset of cinephiles feel duty bound to turn against any slightly whimsical foreign language film that becomes a surprise hit in English speaking markets. Financial successes like Amélie (2001) tend to be dismissed as pretentious, twee exercises in emotional manipulation….
REVIEW: The Beta Test (2021)
Previously we’ve seen actor-director Jim Cummings attempting to navigate a custody battle whilst processing his own grief in his breakthrough feature Thunder Road, then he went on to confront his daddy issues and catch a murderous werewolf in his follow up effort, The Wolf of…
REVIEW: Belfast (LFF 2021)
A triumphant personal return to form for Kenneth Branagh. Kenneth Branagh has been an acclaimed stage and screen actor for over three decades but his directorial efforts have been much more hit and miss. However, he has remarkably directed 21 films and while the early…
REVIEW: Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021)
The anthology film has fallen out of fashion in the past couple of decades. We no longer live in an era in which movie stars have the ability to draw in massive audiences, so celebrity laden super-productions like The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965) are unlikely to…
REVIEW: Year of the Dog (2021)
Any dog owner can attest to the absolute purity of heart of their four-legged friends. To love and be loved by a dog is to know unwavering loyalty and profound companionship. Owning a dog is making a promise to care for and protect a creature…
REVIEW: Welcome to Spain (LFF 2021)
In Seville, a once-famous brothel has become a refugee centre. A place where refugees from all over the world, no matter their reason for leaving their home country, can stay as they learn about Spanish culture and go through the steps to get them the…
REVIEW: Ron’s Gone Wrong (LFF 2021)
For the feature-length animated debut for studio Locksmith Animation, Ron’s Gone Wrong certainly leaves its mark. It’s charming, wonderful, and full of delight. Starring Zach Galifianakis and Jack Dylan Glazer (as Ron and Barney respectively), the story revolves around Barney, a lonely and socially awkward…
REVIEW: The Hand of God (LFF 2021)
Sorrentino’s autobiographical film is an ambitious, intimate triumph. Paolo Sorrentino has been at the epicentre of contemporary European Cinema for over two decades and is responsible for acclaimed films and series including The Great Beauty, Il Divo and The Young and New Pope. He won…
REVIEW: Fruits of Labor (2021)
The Donald Trump administration created an extremely hostile environment for immigrants all over America. Gone was the land of hope and dreams – replaced by threats and fears. Every immigrant, no matter where they came from, was deemed as a threat. No more so than…
REVIEW: The Harder They Fall (LFF 2021)
When the opening credits appear with all the cool swagger, its sharp, stylistic editing and curated music choices, you would think you were watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. After all, his trademarks and isms have dominated popular movie culture since his introduction with Reservoir Dogs. But The…
REVIEW: Titane (2021)
[slight plot spoilers ahead] Titane is a depraved journey, no doubt. Julia Ducournau is quickly cementing herself as a genre filmmaker with the guts to shock and stimulate viewers no matter how deviant the premise. Ducournau shifts from coming-of-age cannibalism in her debut with Raw,…
REVIEW: Venom – Let There Be Carnage (2021)
While Venom certainly had its defenders in 2018, it was definitely divisive. In the few intervening years since then and over the course of the tumultuous time we’ve all been through, Venom has become a much more beloved figure, leading to the hype for the…
