Reviews / 29.03.2022

Against all the odds and early vicious online vitriol, 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog was a surprise smash hit to the tune of more than $300 million worldwide. And, I'll admit, I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought possible. The film luckily snuck into cinemas just before a global shutdown and its sequel arrives as life (and box office figures) appear to be returning to normal. Every bit as goofy, silly, and loud as its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is good harmless fun that kids and fans...

Reviews / 08.03.2022

In their illustrious 27-year history, Pixar Animation Studios has intelligently covered many pertinent topics. From mental health and grief to environmentalism and the meaning of life, their bravery in tackling themes other animation studios wouldn't dare touch has always been one of their greatest strengths. It should come as no surprise to learn their latest effort, Turning Red offers a portrait of something we've never seen in animation before; the perils of puberty. Shrewdly utilising an ancient curse as a smart metaphor for the uncontrollable changes one's body experiences in...

Reviews / 01.03.2022

Less than six years since Ben Affleck inherited the mantle from Christian Bale, the time has already come for another actor to don the infamous Batman cowl. After the disappointing critical and commercial reaction to both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Warner Bros. struck gold with Todd Phillips' bitterly divisive but hugely successful Joker spin-off. They're clearly chasing that lightning in a bottle again with Matt Reeves' dark detective drama The Batman. And, just like Joker, the response is bound to be incongruous. Brace...

Awards Season, Reviews / 18.02.2022

Despite all the inroads of studios like Pixar, Disney, and Sony Pictures, feature-length animated films are still mostly considered a genre of cinema made for children. It's a moderately fair generalisation for a style of film that began as pure family entertainment. That's why it's always such a thrill to see a filmmaker utilise animation in a decidedly adult manner. A brilliant fusion of documentary filmmaking and striking animation to uniquely deliver a compelling true story, Flee is simply extraordinary. It's not just an exceptional documentary or an...

Awards Season, Reviews / 12.02.2022

A film that runs for three hours can be a test of endurance, especially if it's doing little to validate the need for such an extensive running time. In most cases, it's a textbook example of a director failing to grasp the concept of editing. Less can sometimes be more. Then a filmmaker like Ryûsuke Hamaguchi comes along and somehow three hours float by without one even noticing. Such is the case with Hamaguchi's Drive My Car. A perfectly paced and exquisitely crafted masterpiece, this is an astonishing...

Reviews / 10.02.2022

After watching films for the better part of three decades, one would think I'd have learned by now not to judge a book by its cover. I will freely admit to having the absolute lowest of expectations of Marry Me; the breezy new love story starring the oddball romantic pairing of Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. On paper, nothing about Marry Me makes a lick of sense, particularly its utterly ludicrous premise and unexpected casting choices. Yet, despite all the odds, everything miraculously works remarkably well. Colour me entirely surprised...

Reviews / 08.02.2022

Way back in January 2020 (aka the good ol' days), Disney released a series of Asian-inspired posters to celebrate Chinese New Year and promote their entire slate of 2020 theatrical releases. You can see the irony, right? Just two months later, a virus originating from China would see that very release schedule completely wiped clean and every single title either dumped on Disney's streaming platform or postponed for 12-18 months. One film caught up in this chaos was Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile, but it was just...

Awards Season, Reviews / 03.02.2022

When a film becomes the early frontrunner for Best Picture, the mudslinging inevitably begins. Kenneth Branagh's Belfast saw glowing reactions after screening at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. At the latter, it won the People's Choice Award - a trophy three of the last five Best Picture winners all scored. But if you peruse the tweets of the vocal members of Film Twitter, its possible victory in late March would be a travesty not seen since the much-maligned Green Book won in 2018. I completely...

Reviews / 02.02.2022

892 From Vietnam to Iraq, America's woeful treatment of its returning soldiers has always been a dark stain on the country's history. Co-writer/director Abi Damaris Corbin taps into America's systemic failure of veterans' affairs with a pertinent and important true story ripped straight from the headlines. Led by a powerhouse performance from John Boyega and a terrific ensemble cast, 892 is a tense thriller with a powerful narrative that's damaged by Corbin's melodramatic TV Movie of the Week direction. In the summer of 2017, Lance Cpl. Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) walks into...

Reviews / 31.01.2022

After Yang Sci-fi is a genre of cinema that loves to explore the notion of what is to be human, especially when robots are involved. That notion is at the heart of Kogonada's tender and delicate After Yang; a beautifully crafted wonder that explores grief, loss, and love in a way that's entirely mesmerising. Elevated by a hypnotic score from ASKA, elegant production design by Alexandra Schaller, and Benjamin Loeb's gorgeous cinematography, its emotional core will quietly creep up on you and leave you rather breathless. Taking place somewhere in the...

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