The Handmaid’s Tale [2017] “There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” (Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, 1985: 34) “Humanity is so adaptable, my mother would say. Truly amazing…
Author: Spotlight on Film
Providing in-depth reviews of films since 2011.
Paris: 10 Great Films Set in the City
To follow from my Rome-location film list which I made last April, here is the list of 10 films that showcase the delightful City of Light – Paris, a permanent place for romance, charm, elegance and sophistication.
“Youth” Review
Youth [2015] – ★★★★ Directed by eminent Italian director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty (2013)), Youth is about Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine), a retired music composer who reminisces on his life while luxuriating at a health resort in the Swiss Alps. His old friend Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel), an American film director, keeps him company,…
The Time Travel Blogathon: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Silver Screenings and Wide Screen World are co-hosting the Time Travel Blogathon, and my contribution is the review of Edge of Tomorrow, a fantastic science-fiction film directed by Doug Liman, and starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson. Relying on the now fabled “Groundhog Day” concept, Edge of Tomorrow is about one Major (Cruise)…
“120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)” Review
120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) [2017] – ★★★★ This French-language film about ACT UP-Paris’s activities to promote AIDS-related issues in the early 1990s is defined by director Robin Campillo’s personal experience, which makes the film even more potent, significant and poignant. At the centre of the story is the ACT UP-Paris organisation itself, a non-violent…
10 Oscar Injustices of 2018
If last year the Academy Awards ceremony surprised us all with an unbelievable envelopes’ swap, and hence, provided a lot of entertainment as a result, this year the Academy Awards had the distinction to be so predictable as to verge on absolute boredom. I am glad though that “The Shape of Water” won the Best Picture Award and that “Coco” was considered the Best Animation. However, the question still remains – what injustices the Academy committed this year?
“California Typewriter” Review
California Typewriter (2017) Narrated by Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard and David McCullough, among others, California Typewriter is an insightful documentary about one particular loss which technological advances are capable of causing. One small family-run business in California revolves around the selling and mending of typewriters, and still believes in the power and value…
“The Florida Project” Review
The Florida Project [2017] – ★★★★1/2 Sean Baker (Tangerine (2015)) has produced something special – a powerful, unforgettable film about the innocence, joys, freedoms and wonders of childhood played out in the context of social and economic exclusion in Florida, US. The Florida Project has been very unjustly ignored by the Academy in the forthcoming…
“Downsizing” Review
Downsizing [2017] – ★★★ Alexander Payne’s Downsizing has the recipe to become one of a kind film – thought-provoking, funny and engaging. In the film, Paul and Audrey Safranek (Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig) are a couple who decide to undergo a revolutionary “downsizing” procedure to become four inches’ tall people and, from then on,…
Lost in Translation: 15 Film Titles Gone Astray
Film titles are important for marketing, and the correct translation of a title, taking into account cultural sensitivity, contributes to making that film a success. It is more surprising, therefore, that some English-language titles are being translated in such a way that leads to all sorts of problems, and at best, may sound funny and…
“The Shape of Water” Review
The Shape of Water [2017] – ★★★★1/2 “Words lie, but looks don’t…When you fall in love, you fall in love, absolutely, all at once, all-in. It’s a miracle” (Guillermo del Toro). “Unable to perceive the shape of You, I find You all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with Your love, It humbles…
Plagiarism: Jean-Pierre Jeunet accused Guillermo del Toro of copying his scene from “Delicatessen” and his concept from “Amelie” for “The Shape of Water”
**SPOILER ALERT FOR THE FILM “THE SHAPE OF WATER”** A number of newspapers and news sources reported that French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet accused Guillermo del Toro of copying one of his scenes from his movie Delicatessen (1991) for del Toro’s latest film The Shape of Water. Moreover, Jeunet accused del Toro of copying the character…
The O Canada! Blogathon: Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World (2016)
It’s Only the End of the World [2016] – ★★★★ This is my second post for the amazing O Canada! Blogathon hosted by Ruth of Silver Screenings and Kristina of Speakeasy (check out some of the amazing entries here). “There I was…after twelve years of absence, and in spite of my fear, I was going to visit them. In life,…
The O Canada! Blogathon: Laurence Anyways (2012)
Ruth of Silver Screenings and Kristina of Speakeasy are hosting the O Canada! Blogathon to celebrate all things Canada in film and TV, and I thought I would contribute because Canadian cinematography is close to my heart. It has always tried to be different and often experimented. Xavier Dolan, my choice for this blogathon, is no different….
“Ingrid Goes West” Review
Ingrid Goes West [2017] – ★★★ In this film by Matt Spicer, the dangers of the social media usage are laid bare when a troubled girl Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) starts to stalk online a successful Los Angeles photographer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). With the inheritance that her mother left her, Ingrid moves to LA…
“Coco” Review: Engrossing, Mesmerising & Heart-felt
Coco [2017] – ★★★★★ A fun, twisty tribute to the Mexican folklore, showcasing touching love for music and one’s family. Coco is a delightful Pixar-produced Academy Awards nominee of 2018. Taking the Mexican folklore and tradition on board, it tells the story of Miguel, a boy living with his family of zapateros or shoemakers in…
“Lady Macbeth” Review
Lady Macbeth [2017] – ★★★★ 👗Transportive to the era, Lady Macbeth is a thoughtful drama, with an astounding performance from Florence Pugh. This limited budget production-film takes the story of Nicholas Lescov titled Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1865) as its inspiration to set its own in rural England. Florence Pugh plays a vivacious…
“The Limehouse Golem” Review
The Limehouse Golem [2017] – ★★★★ This film, based on a novel by Peter Ackroyd Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem, starts with Victorian London being shaken by a series of gruesome murders deemed to be perpetuated by an individual so mythical he is called Golem. Eccentric Inspector John Kildare (Bill Nighy) is assigned to…
10 Oscar Injustices of 2017
1. Your Name Your Name has now the distinction to be the highest grossing anime film in history, suppressing the old record set by Spirited Away (2001). Makoto Shinkai has crafted something unique, emotional and memorable. The story of two teenagers swapping bodies randomly at night has everything which any anime could desire to have:…
Agatha Christie Adaptations: Murder on the Orient Express (1974), & (2017)
Murder on the Orient Express [1974] – ★★★★ It is no wonder that Agatha Christie chose the Orient Express, once the most luxurious train in the world, as the setting for one of her fictitious crime scenes. From Paris to Istanbul, a journey of some 1,920 miles, will take passengers around 1883 (the date of…
Spotlight on Film 