London Film Festival 2024
- Emilia Perez Melds Music and Emotions Together in a Savage Social Statement
Emilia Perez, co-written and directed by Jacques Audiard, may have created Oscar buzz around Selena Gomez after the London Film Festival, but plaudits really belong to Karla Sofia Gascon. Submerged beneath prosthetics as cartel boss Manitas Del Monte, before transforming into Emilia Perez, this film lives or dies on her performance. Bold, brash, and brave …Continue reading “Emilia Perez Melds Music and Emotions Together in a Savage Social Statement”
Sundance Film Festival 2023
- Sundance Review: ‘Plan C’ makes an impact with a hard-hitting look at life choices
There is no denying that Plan C intended to inform, sought to educate, and hoped to enlighten when it came to Sundance, but for some audiences, this is exactly what made the documentary so dangerous. Debates around abortion in America have raged on for decades, coming to a head in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled in …
Sundance Film Festival 2022
- We Got This Covered – Sundance Review: ‘Something in the Dirt’ requires some heavy lifting
This lo-fi indie effort from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead makes for a dense watch. On the surface, Something in the Dirt concerns itself with supernatural phenomena, Los Angeles planning grids, and Pythagoras’ theorems. Numerous segues between Benson’s John and Moorhead’s Levi also concern discussions on gravity and geographical ratios, which in turn naturally revolve around their …
London Film Festival 2022
- London Film Festival 2022 Review – ‘Decision to Leave’
Not every attraction in life comes without a degree of compromise. Whether that means an element of risk, a taste of something taboo, or a connection with someone outside our comfort zone. That is what Oscar winning writer director Park Chan-wook seeks to explore in Decision to leave. A tantalizing trip into film noir territory, …Continue reading “London Film Festival 2022 Review – ‘Decision to Leave’”
Tribeca Film Festival 2022
- We Got This Covered – Tribeca Review: ‘The Forgiven’ is a morally ambiguous melodrama that lacks closure
Adapted for the screen and directed by John Michael McDonagh (Cavalry), The Forgiven is a melodrama that specifically explores cultural differences. It opens in cloying heat as David Henninger (Ralph Fiennes) and his wife Jo (Jessica Chastian) nurse the remnants of their broken marriage, with their respite from each other deep in the Moroccan desert being friends …
SXSW Film Festival 2022
- We Got This Covered – SXSW Film Review: ‘Women Do Cry’ proves to be a hard hitting drama not for the faint hearted
‘Borat’ star Maria Bakalova co-stars in this film about a Bulgarian family grappling with generational trauma brought by gender roles. Women Do Cry, a female treatise on the role of gender in Bulgarian society, grabbed headlines at Cannes last year for a number of reasons, chief amongst them was the presence of Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova. The …