Six friends meet up for the first time in almost a decade for a weekend of reminisces and revelry in Re: Uniting. But there are secrets that have been festering for years, feelings unaddressed, and an unexpected development that could change the course of the entire friendship.
Even Quarantine Can’t Redeem the Hot Mess that is Bloodshot
Bloodshot, aka Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel), an elite soldier with several successful missions under his belt, sees his wife killed before his eyes and vows revenge against her murderer. There’s just one problem: he was killed too. But Garrison wouldn’t let something like death stop him, would he?
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood Wastes its Potential
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood Quentin Tarantino (Director and Writer), Robert Richardson (Cinematography), Fred Raskin (Editor), Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie (Cast) Released July 26, 2019 SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers for Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood. Once Upon a Time, I was a huge Quentin Tarantino fan. I’d seen…
Mudbound: A Gorgeously Shot Drama About Southern Racism
Mudbound Dee Rees (director), Rachel Morrison (cinematographer), Mako Kamitsuna (editor) Adapted from the Hillary Jordan novel by Dee Rees and Virgil Williams Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige (cast) January 21, 2017 (Sundance), September 10, 2017 (TIFF), November 17, 2017 (USA) Mudbound is a raw, historical family drama with a…
Tragedy Girls is the Sweetly Subversive Slasher Movie We Need
Tragedy Girls Tyler McIntyre (director and writer), Chris Lee Hill (writer), Pawel Pogorzelski (cinematographer), Martin Pensa (editor) Alexandra Shipp, Brianna Hildebrand, Kevin Durand, Craig Robinson (cast) October 20, 2017 (USA) This movie is fucking great. Like *spoiler alert* I really, really love this movie.
Reel Resistance: TIFF’s Newest Programme Explores Filipino Cinema
After 400 years of colonization, dictatorship, and rebellion, resistance has been written into every page of Filipino history. Spanish/American/Japanese occupations have had an impact in ways still being unpacked today, ways that have manifested in the Filipino people’s own governance of the country. This fall, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Bell Lightbox is bringing…
A Silent Voice is a Perfect Film
A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) Naoko Yamada (director), Reiko Yoshida (screenplay), Kazuya Takao (cinematographer), Kengo Shigemura (editor) Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yūki, Kenshō Ono, Yūki Kaneko (voice cast) Adapted from the manga A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ōima October 20, 2017 (USA)
The Shape of Water Is a Fairy Tale That’s As Steadfast as It is Strange
The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro (director and writer), Vanessa Taylor (writer), Dan Laustsen (cinematographer), Sidney Wolinsky (editor) Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins (cast) September 1, 2017 (Toronto International Film Festival 2017), August 31, 2017 (Venice International Film Festival) An invitation lies at the heart of Guillermo del Toro’s newest…
Fantastic Shorts by Women at Fantastic Fest
With everything that’s gone down with Fantastic Fest these past few weeks, there’s been a hyper focus on how we can make the film industry more welcoming towards women. At the festival itself, only 11 feature length films out of over 80 were directed by women; three of those films were co-directed with men, meaning…
Jailbreak is a Gorgeously Shot Ode to Cambodia’s Martial Art
Jailbreak Jimmy Henderson (director), Godefroy Ryckewaert (cinematographer), Amit Dubey, Jimmy Henderson (editors) Jean-Paul Ly, Dara Our, Tharoth Sam, Céline Tran, Savin Phillip, Dara Phang (cast) September 23, 2017 (Fantastic Fest), October 6, 2017 (London Film Festival) Jailbreak is an ambitious, kinetic, and wildly enjoyable action film hailing from Cambodia, a country whose film industry is…
Good Manners Is a Romance Film Seeped in Magical Realism
Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas (directors), Rui Poças (cinematography), Caetano Gotardo (editor) Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Cida Moreira, Miguel Lobo (cast) Released September 24, 2017 (Fantastic Fest), October 11, 2017 (BFI London Film Festival) “Lady, beware, quicken your pace…all kinds of creatures hide in the night,” a woman sings as the…
The Villainess Delivers Bloody Action and an Overstuffed Plot
The Villainess (Aknyeo) Byung-gil Jung (director), Jung-hun Park (cinematographer), Sun-mi Heo (editor) Ok-bin Kim, Ha-kyun Shin, Jun Sung, Seo-hyeong Kim (cast) Released September 8, 2017 (USA), September 12, 2017 (Vancouver) Lethal women given a second lease on life figure prominently in the action thriller genre. Sometimes the women play major supporting roles in these films. Other times, as…