The Last Black Man in San Francisco [2019] – ★★★1/2 “There is no place like home”. Housing is an important but often overlooked topic in films (see my discussion of two notable films about housing here). The Last Black Man in San Francisco, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019, tells…
Tag: Sundance Film Festival
“The Babadook” Review
📖 A well-made horror film with oppressive atmosphere that also explores deeper, thought-provoking themes of coming to terms with trauma and overcoming grief.
“Three Identical Strangers” Review
Three Identical Strangers (2018) Tim Wardle’s Three Identical Strangers is a documentary about an incredible true story of three identical brothers (David, Eddie and Robert) who were separated shortly after birth and who then get to know each other for the first time at the age of 19 through one incredible reunion. However,…
Films that “grapple” with Faith: “First Reformed” (2018) and “Novitiate” (2017)
First Reformed [2018] – ★★★★★ First Reformed comes from director Paul Schrader, who co-wrote the scripts to such films as Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), and who also directed American Gigolo (1980) and Affliction (1997). Clearly inspired by Robert Bresson’s classic film Diary of a Country Priest (1951), First Reformed tells of Reverend…
“Thoroughbreds” Review
Thoroughbreds [2017] – ★★★1/2 What happens when a street-smart, completely unemotional teen girl rekindles her childhood friendship with a doubtful, book-smart girl who has emotions, but who wants to get rid of one pressing problem in her life? This situation lies at the core of Thoroughbreds. Rising stars Olivia Cooke (The Limehouse Golem (2017)) and…
“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…
“Marjorie Prime” Review
Marjorie Prime [2017] – ★★1/2 Based on an acclaimed play by Jordan Harrison Marjorie Prime, this film of the same name is a science-fiction/drama film directed by Michael Almereyda (Experimenter (2015)) and starring Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Geena Davis and Tim Robbins. It tells of a woman in her 80s, Marjorie, who spends her time…
“The Discovery” Review
The Discovery [2017] – ★★★1/2 The Discovery is a film which had its first premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2017, but, arguably, it deserves more attention than it eventually got. Here, Will (Jason Segel) and Isla (Rooney Mara) meet in the strangest of times. It has been scientifically proven that the afterlife does exist,…
“Christine” Review
Christine [2016] – ★★★★ Christine is a drama by Antonio Campos, based on the real life of Christine Chubbuck, a TV reporter in the 1970s in the US, whose troubled professional/personal life leads her to commit one of the most chilling and gruesome acts on live television. In this film, the lead character is played…
“Indignation” Review
Indignation [2016] – ★★★★ Indignation is a directional debut of screen-writer and producer James Schamus, known for adapting the script of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and being producer of Brokeback Mountain (2005). Adapting a book by Philip Roth, in Indignation, Schamus presents the life of Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman), a bright lad who, while…
Spotlight on Film 