The six hippie scientists from the non-corporation planet that Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) is tasked with protecting on their mining mission are as follows: Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), the admired mission leader, parent of seven, and terraforming expert who is secretly prone to panic attacks Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), the non-binary lawyer and …
The French/Polish director Julia Kowalski recently premiered her Que Ma Volonté Soit Faite (Her Will Be Done). It is a Quinzaine Des Cineastes selection and the director’s sophomore full-length feature, Crache Cœur (Raging Rose). The film narrates the story of Nawojka (Maria Wróbel), a girl from rural France whose parents …
The eponymous hero of this new TV show Murderbot, based on the first of The Murderbot Diaries series of novels by Martha Wells, is strictly speaking a cyborg. It – though sometimes its clients misgender it as a he – has a metallic structure covered with cloned human flesh, including …
Ukrainian directors Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith, and Simon Mozgovyi present their take on the war with Militantropos. The word, which appears after the title cards, comes from the Latin word Milit (soldier) and the Greek Antropos (human). The film uses the combination of those words to formulate its thesis on …
What is a “feel-good” movie? Is it just an uplifting story? Or something even more? That’s a tricky question that doesn’t have a distinct answer. Something that may be heartfelt to one person may be found schmaltzy and manipulative to another. Adding that idea to 2025 films makes the prospect …
Why is a movie about the aftermath of a Parisian career woman’s mental breakdown, set in a small town in eastern France, named after an area of the west coast of Ireland? Because in 1981 a French singer, Michel Sardou, had a massive hit with a song called “Les lacs …
Well. This is the darkest episode yet of Carême and where almost all of the various plot points from earlier in the season have finally converged. Our hero Antonin (Benjamin Voisin) finally has it drilled into his skull not only that actions have consequences, but also that he is not …
It’s funny that the humble beginnings of Steven Spielberg — arguably the most iconic filmmaker working in Hollywood — can be traced back to Playboy Magazine. His directorial debut from 1971, Duel, began as a short story published in Hugh Hefner’s adult-oriented magazine. Author Richard Matheson (The Omega Man, Stir …
This episode of Carême pays off some serious buildup, but the important thing is this is when our cutie hero finally grows up. Antonin (Benjamin Voisin) finally comes to appreciate how his skills as the best cook in France mean that he is not just a pawn on the chessboard …
This Japanese movie is named after an art print a preteen girl buys her terminally ill father. This strange misdirection fits this quietly misguided film, about how that girl passes the time while her parents are too preoccupied for her. This includes some topics on the very edge of what …
Bold, primary colours take centre point within the animated tale Death Does Not Exist (La mort n’existe pas) which convey the film’s blunt messaging effectively. Political in nature and economic in scale, the film lays bare its stance within its opening sequence leaving no doubt about its eat the rich …
The 1980s were perhaps the best decade for high-concept, low-budget, effects-driven horror films. There are many examples, but one that has stood the test of time and become a cult classic for horror fans is Stuart Gordon’s 1984 feature Re-Animator. Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, it tells …
Paul Mescal has the very rare talent of making unusually good choices. He has made a few damp squibs; nobody loved Carmen but me, and while his charisma carried his stage performance of A Streetcar Named Desire from London to Brooklyn, the whole show was misguided. That said, he has …
There is a certain charm in looking back at a film that you watched as a kid. 1995’s A Kid in King Arthur’s Court, from director Michael Gottlieb and writers Michael Part and Robert L. Levy, was an easy choice for family movie night. It stars Thomas Ian Nicholas as …
Film critics could argue that certain films prove challenging to review. Hearing that statement may lead fans to assume one thing: that a film is bad. Bad movies are the hardest to review because there’s only so much to say about them. That statement can be stretched further into the …
Up until a few months ago Wide Awake was just a normal indie festival with the kind of music that would play bands with names like “Psychedelic Porn Crumpets” and “King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard”; and nobody would be none the wiser of to its existence. However, that would …
Everything in Hacks blew apart in A Slippery Slope, episode 9 of season 4. So many threads that we have been following all season came to a head in the penultimate episode. And I admit, the writers had me on the ropes in this one, waiting to see how everything panned out. And …
The dual drop of Hacks episodes 7 and 8 was interesting, but it makes sense for these two to air at the same time. The two work well together and set up the final three episodes well. By the end of episode 8, several conflicts have been set up that should make …
Director Gareth Evans made waves with his 2011 film, The Raid: Redemption, and its 2014 sequel, The Raid 2. Both films became modern-day staples of the action genre, delivering a one-of-a-kind experience. They are films that, 10+ years later, still have an impact on the cultural discussion of action movies. …
I take it all back! Hacks season 4 is perfect and I love it and everyone needs to watch it! Okay, not quite that, but episode 6, Mrs. Table, is an impressive payoff for what has been a lackluster season thus far. This is the kind of writing and performing that I expect …