Violent art that interrogates its own violence is nothing new - and if you're creating violent art self reflection is indeed healthy. Jay Baruchel's Random Acts of Violence sets out to explore the overriding question around all violent art: is it ethical? Does violent art perpetuate violence? Does it reflect violence in the creator? Is … Continue reading Random Acts of Violence (Review)
Category: Films
The Old Guard (Review)
There are things to like in The Old Guard. First of all, it is a pleasingly diverse film in a very natural feeling way: we have two female leads; the film's major romance plot is between two men (and is achingly romantic in the way that we, sadly, too frequently see reserved for heterosexual relationships). … Continue reading The Old Guard (Review)
Host (Review)
The video conferencing service Zoom, for better or for worse, has become an integral part of modern life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, it's unsurprising - considering the recent success (or just simple existence) of films such as Unfriended and Searching - that we now have a Zoom film. To be even more specific, a … Continue reading Host (Review)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Review)
Though already an interesting filmmaker, Never Rarely Sometimes Always (NRSA) establishes Eliza Hittman as one of the most impressive writer/directors in the business, and as a unique voice making important films. On a narrative level, this is the tale of an under-18 girl from rural Pennsylvania (Autumn (Sidney Flanigan)) who, after an unexpected pregnancy, has … Continue reading Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Review)
Last and First Men (Review)
Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson's debut - and sadly final - film is a fascinating thing. It exists on the installation art side of cinema and is composed of beautiful (primarily) black and white shots of abstract architecture (and other landscapes) that are accompanied by narration from Tilda Swinton. The footage is of real things but the … Continue reading Last and First Men (Review)
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (Review)
Off-putting name aside, Dogs Don't Wear Pants (DDWP) is a really impressive movie full of excellent decisions. It is a film of real style - and of some substance - that manages to cleverly negotiate disparate tones while always feeling cohesive. From the beginning, DDWP involves a number of tropes that are often off-putting, or … Continue reading Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (Review)
Vivarium (Review)
Naming a film about domestic life, in which a young couple 'move in' (more on that later) to a new home, after an observed enclosure gives you a strong indication of the ideas the film is going to push. Vivarium is a film that, ultimately, hides a very predictable and drawn out narrative behind a … Continue reading Vivarium (Review)
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Review)
As a love letter to Eurovision in a Eurovisionless year, Fire Saga is a success. As a film, or as anything else - bar a vehicle for Dan Stevens to be mesmerising, it is a resounding failure. This overlong and deeply unfunny film has a number of fake Eurovision sequences that feel like real Eurovision … Continue reading Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Review)
Family Romance, LLC (Review)
Despite having a long history in both narrative and documentary cinema, in his later career Herzog has become more synonymous with the second. This is probably because, outside of some notable exceptions (some of which are debatable), Herzog's documentary output has been of a much higher quality than his narrative features for some time. Sadly, … Continue reading Family Romance, LLC (Review)
New Podcast: I’ve Never Seen…
Welcome to 'I've Never Seen', a new podcast where myself and a friend watch landmark films that we previously hadn't seen and then talk about them. You can find us on Twitter (IveNeverSeen1) and on Instgram (iveneverseenpodcast). Our first episode is up now. We discuss 'The Birth of a Nation' and 'Gone With the Wind.' … Continue reading New Podcast: I’ve Never Seen…
Assorted Opinions 