Review: Plus One (2020) – Days of Joyful Cynicism

Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid in Plus One Ben (Jack Quaid) is a single man. This summer he has been invited to more weddings than any person should logically go to in a summer, one of which requires flying out to Hawaii. Sounds like the perfect way to get drunk and meet women, something Ben …

Review: System Crasher (2020) – Problem Child

Helena Zengel in System Crasher When any parent playfully refers to one of their kids as the 'problem child', its usually a joke. Even if it isn't, the phrase is more often than not hyperbolic. However System Crasher is about the real deal, the problem child that constantly can't get out of her own way. …

Review: Togo (2020) – One Man and his Slog

Willem Dafoe in Togo In February, Disney after the aquesition of 20th Century Fox released The Call of the Wild, a film about gold prospectors in the Yukon and the one dog who adventures all across the Canadian mountains. A few months earlier, the Mickey Mouse Company ventured into the streaming business with the North …

Review: Tigertail (2020) – A Story of Emptiness

Tzi Ma and Christine Ko in Tigertail Crafting a story around the notion of emptiness is a double edged sword, in that the dour mindset often feels counter productive and it is hard to make such a void captivating. Tigertail has a hopefulness that offsets the first of these obstacles but the second is constantly …

Review: Uncorked (2020) – Growing Up In Someone’s Shadow

Mamoudou Athie and Courtney B. Vance in Uncorked For Elijah (Mamoudou Athie), growing up meant learning the family trade, the in's and out's of Memphis barbeque. Be it collecting wood or stoking the fires early in the morning or late at night, his next move was planned out well in advance by his proud father …

Review: Miss Americana (2020) – Brand Isn’t Everything

Taylor Swift in Miss Americana There is an inherent tragedy to Lana Wilson's Miss Americana, a look behind the curtain at life for megastar Taylor Swift. While its mission goes far beyond answering who Swift is outside of the tabloid rumours and public vitriol over what ultimately amounts to half a story, it has to …

Review: Mr Jones (2020) – Starved For The Truth

James Norton in Mr Jones It seems that today for something to be taken seriously they either have to be sensationalised or so stark it is impossible not to take pause and pay attention. Agnieszka Holland's Mr Jones plays to the latter but squanders its graphic visuals by failing to connect to its central character. …

Review: The Last Thing He Wanted (2020) – Lost In The Mystery

Anne Hathaway in The Last Thing He Wanted It is clear that from the start, the Anne Hathaway starring The Last Thing He Wanted wants to be something special, something impressive. It wants to be a conspiracy thriller, but does it? It wants to be a riff on governmental corruption, not only in the 1980s …

Review: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) – The Same But Different

Lana Condor and Noah Centineo in To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Its been two years since the first chapter in this Netflix trilogy and despite being set almost immediately after To All The Boys I Loved Before, the sequel P.S. I Still Love You doesn't seem to really remember who these …

Review: The Coldest Game (2020) – One Man & A Chess Set

Bill Pullman in The Coldest Game When X-Men: First Class came out and used the Cuban Missile Crisis as one of the defining plot points of its often infuriatingly convoluted plot I thought it seemed exploitative and crass. Little did I know that 9 years later The Coldest Game would be released. Also set in …