Category film review

Magic in the Moonlight (2014): Quick-shot review!

A quirky story about a young woman who can see into the beyond, and an older man who sets out to debunk her abilities, Magic in the Moonlight (2014) is Woody Allen’s latest romantic comedy slash drama slash neurotic insight into the ways that complicated people view the world. Really quick write-up for this one. […]

I Origins (2014): “I’d like to tell you the story of the eyes that changed this world.”

Sometimes the saddest thing about a film is its lost potential. I Origins (2014, dir. Mike Cahill) is a pseudo-science fiction drama film lead by Michael Pitt as Ian Gray, a grad student specialising in the field of molecular biology. Ian has an interesting fascination – ever since he was a kid, he’s loved taking […]

Two Films I Couldn’t Finish: Airplane Edition

As a result of flying a total of about 52 hours recently, I had a pretty awesome opportunity to take advantage of the huge catalog of films on United Airways’ in-flight entertainment system (this post is not sponsored by United Airways, although in some ways I wish it was so I could go back on […]

Genre Grandeur: Lisztomania (1975)

The theme for October’s Genre Grandeur over at the excellent MovieRob was biopics, and I chose one of the most non-biographical biopics of all – Ken Russell’s Lisztomania (1975). As always, Genre Grandeur is a super awesome series and I’d definitely suggest checking out the posts at MovieRob. (Thought I’d post this now to provide […]

Two Short Films: Midnight Parasites (1972); The Fall of the House of Usher (1928).

Today I watched two short films, both of which were surreal and amazing, but very different from one another.

Paris Is Burning (1990): Quick-shot review!

Directed by Jennie Livingston and filmed in the mid to late 80s, Paris Is Burning (1990) is a cult documentary that focuses on the New York City drag scene of the 80s; its drag balls, vogue culture, and the various characters and groups that helped to make the drag scene what it is today. Paris […]

Genre Grandeur: Solaris (1972)

The theme for September’s Genre Grandeur over at MovieRob was space – a theme that has the potential to be fun, exciting and adventurous, but also isolating, poignant and filled to the brim with existential themes. I chose to watch Solaris (1972), a Tarkovsky classic. Check out the rest of the films for September’s Genre […]

I Am Curious (Blue) (1968): “I wandered around, not knowing where to go.”

Released after I am Curious (Yellow) (1967), I Am Curious (Blue) (1968, dir. Vilgot Sjöman) continues to follow Lena Nyman on her journey of self-discovery as an actress in a film-within-a-film, and as an independent and passionate woman who wants to know more about life. Initially intended to be constructed as a singular film, Yellow […]

Tiny Furniture (2010): “I’m in a postgraduate delirium.”

Lena Dunham’s directorial debut, Tiny Furniture (2010) is an independent comedy/drama about a young woman named Aura, played by Dunham herself, who returns home after graduating from college and is set the hard task of finding out where to go from there. She moves back in with her mother Siri (Laurie Simmons) and her sister […]

Ida (2013): “Who are you?”

Ida (2013, dir. Paweł Pawlikowski) is a truly great film – quietly brilliant, visually stunning, and emotionally powerful. It tells the story of Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, who, before taking her vows to become a fully initiated nun, discovers a disturbing family secret recalling the horrors of the Nazi […]