Tag: Film
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Beauty and the Beast: Classic remake, or remade classic?
This gotta be the shortest delay for a Disney live action remake right? I mean we had Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty by any other name) followed by Branagh’s Cinderella, then Favreau’s The Jungle Book and David Lowery’s Pete’s Dragon; but Pete’s Dragon came out in ’77 and never really hung about in the public consciousness. Beauty…
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Kong: Skull Island – A better Sahara
Did you ever watch Sahara? I don’t think many people did, it’s not that good. I think it’s one of the contenders for the title of the biggest Hollywood flop. It’s the bizarre, sloppy, racist attempt to turn Matthew McConaughey into the action star he never was. Part of the joy of the thing is…
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The Student: An uncomfortable film
Seems like there was some internal disagreement on how to translate the title of The Student. The poster in the cinema’s foyer read student, the film’s subtitles meanwhile chose to interpret it as The Disciple. Reading online the transliterated original would have been (M)Uchenik which also adds a pun in there involving the word Martyr.…
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Certain Women: A film with resolve
If Certain Women feels empty it is almost certainly by design. What better way to ring in Women’s History month than with this collection of stories regarding the diminishing effect the patriarchy has in the modern age? Kelly Reichardt is one of modern cinema’s leading formalists, exploring the place of women in society within her…
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Viceroy’s House: A paean to colonialism
If there’s one subject a British filmmaker needs to approach with caution nowadays its colonialism. I mean, sure, our history, and indeed our present, is full of shit that needs approaching with caution, but following Brexit, the subsequent rise in nationalist sentiment, and the belief among many of our elderly that a rapacious, destructive, grasping…
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Logan: Aging out
It is the tragedy of Jackman’s Wolverine that, while the character he plays is portrayed as functionally ageless, immortal, to watch the evolution of his portrayal is to watch his struggle against the forces of time. It would be wise for him not to return to the role, he can go on to star in…
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Fist Fight: Improv is no excuse for tastelessness
I think the actors in this joint were afraid of the grown up swears. Like, when filming nobody was too sure whether they were aiming for the PG13 or the R rating. In America your fucks, shits, and cunts are the grown words; your bitches, however, are fine. The characters in this film say ‘bitch’…
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Patriots Day: Third time’s almost the charm
Seems like Peter Berg has his game on lockdown right now. He’s set himself up as the premier director of Action Thrillers based on real life tragedies starring Mark Wahlberg. It’s an incredibly specific niche to be sure, but it’s his. Pleasingly, in each iteration of the formula so far, starting with 2013’s Lone Survivor,…
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The Fits: What’s a haunted house without the ghost
I’m not sure what to make of The Fits. I think that’s okay, it’s the first feature film by Anna Rose Holmer, and it’s clearly trying to cover a lot of ground. It’s exploring belonging and gender presentation and coming of age as a black girl. It’s a delicate balancing act for the most part…
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It’s Only the End of the World: Family Matters
Family be hard. I imagine that ain’t the way for everyone, but when Bush Senior talked about wanting families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons, one guesses it weren’t a simple minority he was talking about. There’s one respite for everyone, eventually you get to grow up and…
A Grand Quiet 