Drama
Belfast Review
In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Belfast Boy Kenneth Branagh speaks on the origins of his new, uncreatively-named film – an autobiographical account of his own childhood in the capital of Northern Ireland during The Troubles. His was a time of great change when the village he resided in was thrown into violence and turmoil in 1969 from fighting between Protestants and Catholics (or Unio...
Spencer Review
It is the Christmas Season of 1991. On the 24th of December, the British Royal Family assemble at the Queen’s Sandringham estate. The only person not to have arrived on time is Diana Spencer (Kristen Stewart), now better known to the world as Princess Diana (although yes, technically she was not a princess, royalty fans, we know). Despite having been to Sandringham many times before, she has becom...
Licorice Pizza Review
Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, prodigal son of the late Philip Seymour) is a 15 year old student and part time actor with dreams of entrepreneurship. When he notices ’22’ (25) year old Alana Kane (Alana Haim of the eponymous family band) assisting with high school yearbook photos of his peers, he falls rather hard. We follow the saga of their not-quite relationship as they try to get ...
Swan Song Review
The first time I remember seeing Udo Kier, he was wearing a beautiful lime green jacket and info-dumping a great deal (in a dubbed American accent) on a dance student named Susie Bannion. Little did I know the magnetic charm that this German character actor had on some of the most unique filmmakers of our time; Kier counts among his frequent collaborators the likes of Werner Herzog, Lars Von Trier...
Don’t Look Up Review
Two obscure astronomers, grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and her supervisor, Dr Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) detect a comet heading straight for Earth. The numbers are incontrovertible; it’s a planet killer, destined to wipe out humanity. They take the info to the authorities, only to smack up against indifference, disbelief, and political self-interest, chiefly from President ...
Dune Review
Twenty-thousand years in the future, humans have travelled widely through space and live on numerous worlds. Society has returned to a feudal model of royalty and empire, except these now stretch across star systems. Royal families run corporations and fight amongst themselves for favours from the Emperor, who is the greatest of all powers. He rules the Intergalactic Imperium. Duke Leto (Oscar I...
Titane Review
Below is my review of this year’s Palme d’Or-winning film Titane – the sophomore feature from one of the most exciting directors in the infancy of her career, Julia Ducournau. It is impossible to review this film without spoiling it, so if you want to go in blind then it’s probably best to stop here. In 2017 Ducournau directed her first feature-length film Raw, a coming-of-age story about a ...
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Review
I learned two very important things from Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn, the provocative new film from Romanian director Radu Jude: 1) that people of a certain age are both shamefully interested in and incredibly uncomfortable with seeing sex on-screen and 2) that Romanians are aresholes. The latter may require more research, but seeing this film with a rather undiversified demographic on a Saturd...
Last Night in Soho Review
Edgar Wright’s love for vintage music has been more apparent than ever from his last few films, more recently in his documentary The Sparks Brothers and prior to that, the thumpingly cool caper Baby Driver. But music is also put to expert use in his earlier comedies. I’m sure many (like myself) still associate Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” with Shaun of the Dead and his new film, Last Night In Soho,...
The Many Saints of Newark Review
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” – Silvio Dante (in his beloved Michael Corleone bit) accurately describing what all Sopranos fans were thinking upon seeing the trailer for The Many Saints of Newark, the new film from Alan Taylor (director of the original series.) After many Covid-related reschedules it’s finally here and refreshingly, in theatres. Sopranos creator...
Riders of Justice Review
As someone who’s turned a Mads Mikkelsen obsession into a personality trait I am contractually obliged to wax lyrical about everything he does. But I don’t think it’s bias talking when I say that Riders of Justice, from Anders Thomas Jensen, is a wholly successful absurdist action comedy for (almost) the entire family. Its ultraviolence fits nicely in the John Wick/Nobody era of frustrated male wi...
Nitram Review
NITRAM is a tough film to watch. It’s excellent. Possibly too excellent. I think if I wasn’t Australian, if I didn’t remember the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre, it would be just a brilliant true-crime film. But I do, and so there’s an element of misery I bring into the cinema with me. The Port Arthur Massacre ended with 35 people dead, and 23 people injured. It led to a complete overhaul of Australia’...