Amir El-Masry is the lucky owner of one of the great faces in modern cinema, and he got to show it off not once but twice at this year’s London Film Festival. Unfortunately in neither case was it shown off to his best advantage. The less said about 100 Nights …
There are only so many ways one can put up a facade, and yet every time Matthias (an unassumingly effective Albrecht Schuch) takes on a different life in different social scenarios, in front of total strangers, it’s as if all the pretense is infinite. Matthias has faked it so real …
Rosemead deals with one of life’s most significant challenges. What happens to our loved ones after we leave? Will they be in a safe position as we depart? The film focuses on a mother played by Lucy Liu, who sees the world that she knows coming to a close. But …
One of the benefits of all of us having professional-grade recording devices on our persons at all times is that we are able to document everything. One of the downsides to this is that it’s possible to cross-reference any even slightly true story with the real footage of the case. …
Expectations were low. My relationship with this saga has been, I admit, troubled: mixed feelings regarding the original film and manifestly negative regarding the second chapter. Despite being aware that this third entry, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, has received the warmest reception of the entire franchise so …
I walked into the theater to see Zootopia 2 in a state of almost blessed ignorance. I religiously avoided every trailer, looked away from every promotional image, and stayed far away from the social media buzz. I knew nothing about the critical reception or the general audience sentiment. My only …
Rose Byrne’s magnificent performance grounds this takedown of modern motherhood (not parenthood) under capitalism, but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is really about the flaws of modern American society. Its unmissable message is that America is completely ruled by its addictions and its impossible desire to get without …
H For Hawk, based on Helen MacDonald’s eloquent memoir about grief, is a moving guide to processing loss. The film and the book follow Helen unravelling mind as she tries to distract herself after the death of her father by adopting a goshawk. Academic Helen (Claire Foy) is not the …
Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1982 debut novel, A Pale View of Hills, is an elegant and nuanced examination of identity for post-war Japan. Kei Ishikawa’s ambitious but unsubtle adaptation can’t capture the spirit of his gorgeous writing. The novel and the film are narrated by Etsuko, who appears in two timelines. In …
The Choral is the kind of movie at which the British film industry excels: made for audiences who like their stories flavoured strongly with nostalgia, and who like to read between the lines for their hard-hitting topics. These movies tend to play better overseas, where the historical trappings and the …
Richard Linklater brought two films to the festival crowds this year. The first being Blue Moon, a drama about the tragic Lorenz Hart, whose professional relationship with Richard Rodgers has mostly been lost to history. The second is Nouvelle Vague, a loving ode to French New Wave cinema. Both are …
After one year of waiting with bated breath to view the powerhouses of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo respectively reprising their roles as Glinda and Elphaba on the big screen, it almost seemed unbearable for fans and converted audiences alike. Audiences need not have feared as the Wicked: For Good immersed …
In November 2024, the film version of the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked finally hit theaters. The Broadway musical from Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman is an adaptation of the book of the same title by Gregory Maguire. The film by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians & In the Heights) …
Gotham is still reeling from Joker’s attack on the city last year. Crime hasn’t gotten any better, even with Batman swinging around, and the city is like a fire looking for a match. And the Riddler is set to be that match. Backed by the Servants of Freedom, a paramilitary …
The Fence is Claire Denis’ isolated adaptation of Bernard-Marie Koltès’s play Black Battles with Dogs, which subtly explores masculinity and colonialism. Set predominantly in one location over one night, The Fence never loses its stage show sensibilities, even if that forces Denis to reject her trademark visual lyricism. Set on …
Dragonfly is based on a simple idea: how dangerous it is to trust anyone while you’re weakened, whether through old age, disability or both. Unfortunately it is also so worried that we won’t understand the nuances of this very good idea that it overdoes things, and collapses. This is very …
In their last months of high school, two cisgender boys pretend to be transgender to get into the girls’ changing room. The concept sounds like a dangerous right-wing rhetoric, but She’s the He is a sweet coming-of-age comedy made by a predominantly trans and nonbinary cast and crew. Alex (Nico …
Despite the small territorial space, Iceland has been a potent force for cinema in recent decades. The little island in the Arctic gave us names like Rúnar Rúnarsson and Hylnur Pálmason. Both of them are popular presences at events like the Cannes Film Festival. Rúnarsson presented his When The Light …
My viewing of The Running Man was, honestly, one of the “blindest” I’ve had all year. I wasn’t familiar with the original novel by Stephen King, nor the first 1987 film adaptation. I managed to completely avoid any images, clips, or even reactions to this new release. My expectations, however, …
Enzo (Eloy Pohu) is sixteen or seventeen, a dangerous age. He’s still very much a child, but thinks he isn’t. Having a scooter and some limited amounts of freedom isn’t quite adulthood, but he is too young and too privileged to know that. He lives with his parents Marion and …