When facing war, a political leader knows that there will be hard choices to make. They also know that lives will be lost. The new biopic, Golda, follows the late Golda Meir (Helen Mirren) during the Yom Kippur War.…
Drama
-
-
If Tom Cruise is the last true bankable movie star, then Christopher Nolan is one of just a handful of truly bankable auteur blockbuster directors we have left. Someone who is not a job-for-hire director…
-
DramaReviews
‘Blue Jean’ Is a Cinematic Mirror in an Increasingly Polarizing Social Climate
by Brennan Dubéby Brennan DubéBlue Jean initially premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September of last year, but its global theatrical rollout, which initially began in the United Kingdom in February, has finally branched out into other nations…
-
DramaReviews
‘BlackBerry’ Is Definitive Movie of the Current Corporate Cinema Wave
by Nick Kushby Nick KushAlthough it might not have always seemed like it, the recent wave of movies and television shows about businesses and their founders is part of the logical next step in the movie industry. In a…
-
It has been said that a woman’s intuition is usually correct. What matters is if others listen to her or ignore what has been said because it comes out of the mouth of a female.…
-
-
The Rocky franchise has left an indelible mark on cinema history. It created the blueprint for the modern sports movie that had audiences passionately cheering for the underdog and making them want to get up and…
-
As someone who spent the first eight years of my life in a turbulent, abusive household, generational trauma is something I have thought about often throughout my adulthood. For some, there is a palpable fear…
-
DramaReviews
‘The Eternal Daughter’ Is a Haunting and Beautiful Mother-Daughter Ghost Story
by Nick Kushby Nick KushThere’s a palpable sense of “less is more” in Joanna Hogg’s brand of formalism. Her camera is happy to sit back and observe, only moving very precisely when the scene calls for it. Commonly shooting on…
-
Abortion is one of those topics that are guaranteed to generate strong opinions, regardless of where one stands on the political and religious scale. At the end of the day, it is just another medical…
-
LEVINE. To those even decently well-versed in the classical music world, the name James Levine is likely to bring forth a slew of contradicting reactions. On one end is a sense of deep reverence: Levine…
-
DramaReviews
New York Film Festival 2022 Review: ‘The Novelist’s Film’
by James Y. Leeby James Y. LeeThe legacy of South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo seems largely separated from the stylized and dramatized sensibilities of his Korean New Wave contemporaries — the more minimalistic and theatrically conversational mise-en-scéne of his films seems…
-
While it’s easy to look at the repertoire of films about COVID and deem them redundant, oftentimes incredibly lazy ways to artistically reflect a universal experience, perhaps the most distinctive among them have been the…
-
DramaReviews
Toronto International Film Festival 2022 Review: ‘The Son’
by Brennan Dubéby Brennan DubéFlorian Zeller surprised the film world two years ago with his debut feature film, The Father. That film is one of the masterpieces of the 2020s, and it features what may be the best performance…
-
DramaReviews
Toronto International Film Festival 2022 Review: ‘The Fabelmans’
by Brennan Dubéby Brennan DubéSteven Spielberg has offered plenty of magical dreams over the years. It’s redundant to list his filmography as his repertoire speaks for itself. Steven Spielberg is a name synonymous with film. His iconic status is…
-
Leave it to Claire Denis to create the best representation of the pandemic onscreen yet. There are no Karens yelling over masks, no contagion spreading like wildfire. Instead, masks are a visual motif for the…
-
I’ll admit it, when Neon announced that Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film, Memoria, would embark on a never-ending, roadshow-style film tour across the country forever — meaning there will never be a streaming or Blu-ray release…
-
Clean is a passion project of sorts for one Mr. Adrien Brody. He serves as the film’s star, co-writer, co-producer, and even composer. It took about a decade to get this film from his imagination, to…
-
Adapted from author Annie Ernaux’s quasi-memoir of the same title, and having instantly propelled itself into a modern canon of films about the stark realities of abortion — among them being Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3…
-
The media is composed of a large segment of our contemporary society, being the main channel of collective mass communication. The media consists of broadcasting, publishing, and the internet, which includes, but is not limited…
-
Driving can be a profound experience. It is difficult to articulate the feeling of what it’s like to ponder a great many things while you drive in solitude, or that quiet mutual moment of bonding…
-
At 83 years old, Ridley Scott is still cranking out consistently great and entertaining films. Just last month, he released The Last Duel which is the frontrunner for the most underseen and under-appreciated film of 2021. Now…
-
DramaReviews
London Film Festival 2021 Review: ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’
by Bethany Lolaby Bethany LolaDouble, double toil and trouble; fire burn and caldron bubble. It’s a story we all know. One of Shakespeare’s many classics, The Tragedy of Macbeth takes pride in being a new spin on the 1606…
-
In an era where we’re overwhelmed with features made during quarantine, it’s hard to find a film that strays from the rest and is actually worthwhile watching. While Language Lessons doesn’t necessarily go above and…
-
Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman once said, “no art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.” To many of us,…
-
DramaReviews
‘Mass’ Is a Study of Grief, Told Through Masterful Performances
by Jack Edgarby Jack EdgarThere’s a line that creators of topical art must keep in mind as it’s being crafted — so easy is it to become melodramatic, “preachy”, or unrealistic. The slightest misstep can take a viewer out…
-
With 2021’s Cannes Grand Prix win on its back, Compartment No. 6 brings to life a self-reflective, alcohol-filled drama. Establishing an unlikely friendship between a Finnish student and a Russian miner, Laura (Seidi Haarla) and…
-
To discuss Pedro Almodóvar is to acknowledge not just the transgressive streak of his early filmography, but also the post-Julieta change of pace that the Spanish auteur has undergone with his latest few works. With…
-
Manitoban filmmaker Rhayne Vermette’s Ste. Anne is a fascinating directorial debut — a loosely constructed tapestry of hypnotic sounds and grainy cinematography, and an enigmatic 80-minute experience that operates in pure abstraction. Unfolding a series…
-
Daniela (Daniela Zahlner) can’t sleep lately. After spending some time traveling in New York and returning to Berlin, she’s slowly come to the realization that her continued insomnia isn’t just from her jet lag anymore,…