Yifei Liu in Mulan Back in September when Disney dropped their long anticipated live action Mulan on their streaming platform for a pay upfront price of $30 people were upset at the steep price of admission to this exclusive club. They didn't care if the film was good, bad or somewhere in between. The cost …
Month: December 2020
Review-Lite: Eternal Beauty (2020)
Sally Hawkins in Eternal Beauty There is a moment early on in Craig Roberts' Eternal Beauty where the loneliness that permeates every frame of this wonderfully unique and personal picture transitions from comical to tragic as the main story comes into focus. Jane (Sally Hawkins) is the black sheep of the family, whose spent her …
Review-Lite: Billie (2020)
Billie Holiday in Billie James Erskine's documentary about the late great Billie Holiday is more than an in depth discussion of the dark edges of a powerhouse performer but also a look at the kind of obsessive devotion she encouraged, not just by those she knew but also her audience. Made up of interview recordings …
Review-Lite: Les Misérables (2020)
Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti and Djebril Zonga in Les Misérables Ladj Ly's Les Misérables is a deeply personal film set in the apartment blocks of parisian suburb of Monterfermeil, Ly's own childhood home. Set over the course of two days, Les Misérables follows newly transferred police officer Stéphane Ruiz (Damien Bonnard) as he is assigned …
Review-Lite: Peninsula (2020)
Gang Dong-Won in Peninsula When Peninsula's predecessor, the wonderfully paced and nerve shredding Train to Busan was released in 2016 it smartly avoided emulating other zombie films, instead telling an insulated story with a different type of monster while embracing a little bit of B movie camp along the way. Peninsula once again seeks to …
Review-Lite: Rogue (2020)
Megan Fox in Rogue There comes a moment in the early on in M.J Bassett's Rogue where you either resign yourself to the film before you or crumble under the weight of stupidity placed at your feet. Rogue, at least initially, follows an 'elite' squad of soldiers led by Sam O'Hara (Megan Fox) who depart …
Review-Lite: Stage Mother (2020)
Jacki Weaver in Stage Mother When Maybelline (Jacki Weaver) inherits a drag bar in San Francisco from her recently deceased son she is forced to contend with her prejudices and see things differently as she contends with her failures as a parent. Directed by Thom Fitzgerland, this Canadian produced drama earnestly tells its story from …
November – Part 3
Jesse Eisenberg in Resistance Resistance If you said the name Marcel Marceau most people wouldn't know what you were talking about, a few might know him as the famous mine who rose to fame after the 2nd world war. Those few that know the name, even less would know of his quietly heroic actions, the …
November – Part 2
Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross in The High Note The middle of November for me was filled with movies that were in equal parts about dreams and playing to your passions. Usually these kinds of films are well within my wheelhouse, but maybe because of the times we are living in or changing tastes …
November – Part 1
Vlad Ivanov and Catrinel Marlon in The Whistlers When I thought about writing up the various films I watched in November I saw it as a 30 minute job, a task that wouldn't be particularly taxing. Looking back on how I started November with Corneliu Porumboiu's The Whistlers and finished with Hong Khaou's Monsoon, you …
The Sardonic Romantic 