Bridget Moore
The United States vs. Billie Holiday Review
How much did I love THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY? Well, I went right on down to my library and checked out the book it’s based on. How much did everyone else love it? I’m not even joking: the cinema burst into applause as the final credits rolled. THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY is not your usual biography film. It’s actually based on a chapter of ‘Chasing the Scream: The First and ...
Supernova Review
When it comes to reviewing SUPERNOVA, it’s hard to really know where to start. I absolutely adored it. But it also kind of broke me… It’s a slow, beautiful film. About a slow, monstrous illness. SUPERNOVA is about the lingering death so many of us fear: dementia. A death of the personality and the memory, but not of the body. So we lose what makes us ourselves, but we keep on living. Tusker...
Nobody Review
I was so excited to see NOBODY. It promised to be ‘A History of Violence’ meets the newer ‘Rambo’ films, and I was here for it. Ever since John Wick threw that gun at a guy’s head, I’ve been impatiently waiting for more of this particular genre. NOBODY completely delivered. I’m so happy. NOBODY follows the usual set up. Hutch Mansell (played by Bob Odenkirk) is a seemingly mild mannered family man...
Godzilla vs. Kong Review
GODZILLA VS. KONG is the Giant Monster (Kaiju) movie I’ve been waiting for since I was a little kid, staying up late to watch black-and-white monster movies on SBS. I’m not even being hyperbolic. This film is a delight. I cannot wait to watch it again. Obviously, GODZILLA VS. KONG is exactly what it says on the label. Godzilla and King Kong fight each other. The two giant monsters of disaster cin...
Crisis Review
CRISIS is about the the opioid epidemic in the United States. It’s a public health crisis, destroying countless lives and communities. In 2017, opioid overdoses were estimated to kill approximately 130 Americans each day. At least 47,600 people died in 2017 alone. Drug addiction is an ambitious subject for any film to explore. And considering CRISIS follows three different storylines, and explores...
Girls Can’t Surf Review
First thing’s first: you don’t need to know a thing about surfing to love this film. You’ll quickly catch on to the slang, and to the sport. Director Christopher Nelius knows how to make a great surf documentary. And while GIRLS CAN’T SURF is about women’s surfing in the 80s and 90s, this is a film that’s absolutely for anyone and everyone. However, it is defini...
My Fiona Review
Where to even begin with this film? MY FIONA tore my heart out. I was emotionally destroyed. And I don’t tend to cry at movies. The opening scene is so ordinary and familiar. Two women just working on their computers, having a regular day. They sing a song together, one of them brings out a packed lunch. It’s normal. And then comes the moment when everything changes. Someone makes a decision...
Bye Bye Morons Review
My friend – who is French, and so knows about these things – tells me a good French comedy needs two things: whimsy and depression. With a title like BYE BYE, MORONS (‘Adieu les cons’ is the French title), I know we’re off to a great start. Suze Trappet (Virginia Efira) is a beautiful and successful hairdresser, with her whole life ahead of her. Unfortunately, that li...
Judas and the Black Messiah Review
Right from the start, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH hits hard and fast. There’s dramatic speeches, bloody violence, deep friendship, and growing love. And through all that, the threat of tragedy looms large. Although the title gives away the ending – this is a story of betrayal – the final scenes are a gut punch. The film follows the Black Panthers in Chicago in the late 1960s. A B...