Greta Gerwig’s reimagining of Little Women (and why it’s the best)
Gerwig’s Little Women is a revelation. With skillful direction (and script) and an outstanding cast she has drawn out the nuance and depth behind the story.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait of a Lady on Fire, the critically acclaimed French film written and directed by Céline Sciamma (also known for Girlhood, Tomboy and the screenwriter of the award-winning animation My Life as a Zucchini), is engrossing and beautiful. It tells the story of a 19th century portrait painter, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) who is commissioned to…
The Irishman is Scorsese at his storytelling best
The Irishman, Martin Scorsese’s latest contribution to the gangster genre, has just been released on Netflix, and if you’re a Scorsese fan, it’s every bit the film you need it to be. Scorsese’s mobsters generally aren’t the bosses, they’re men with a job to do, men with families, trying to get ahead, and The Irishman is…
Ready or Not destined to be a cult classic
Ready or Not is a wild, entertaining, and fairly gruesome ride from beginning to end. Take a tight script written by Gary Busick and Ryan Murphy, along with slick direction by Matt Bettinelli-Olphin and Tyler Gillett, add beautiful production design and lighting, a star turn by Samara Weaving and an excellent supporting cast, and you…
Timothée Chalamet is The King
The King is David Michôd and Joel Edgerton’s reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V, combined with additional historical detail and told with a modern eye to story-telling. This is not an updated Shakespeare, it’s quite a different beast, but with Shakespearian roots. The story starts with young Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet), living whatever passed…
Joker is no joke, it’s a film for our time
When a movie about an iconic comic book villain wins the Golden Lion, the biggest prize at the Venice Film Festival, you can expect it’s not a garden variety super hero movie, and Joker is certainly no standard movie. Not in any category. People have different tastes, and read things in different ways, but I’m…
Parasite
Laugh-out-loud funny and shocking, tense and tragic, sad and satisfying, all at once. That is how I would describe Bong Joon-ho’s Palm d’Or prize-winning film Parasite.
The Favourite
The Favourite is an accomplished, funny and clever film from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. It’s arguably his most best, and certainly his most accessible film. An entertaining story of palace intrigue and powerplays beautifully shot amongst the decadence of Hampton Court Palace. In fact, Queen Anne spent little time there during her reign. This film…
Leave No Trace
Debra Granik (writer and director of Winter’s Bone) has created a striking film about connection, isolation, community and the responsibility people have for each other in Leave No Trace. This was one of the most popular films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, and while I missed it then, I was glad to be able…
Loveless
Loveless, the latest from Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, is a beautiful and bleak film. Set in the suburban high-rises of Moscow, divorcing couple, Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin), loath each other but are continuing to share a roof until they can sell their apartment. Also living with them, and barely tolerated by Zhenya…