A great documentary requires a great subject. The figure at the heart of this documentary, Cassandro, is certainly that. They are a cross dressing Mexican wrestler who is openly gay and flamboyant in an area where traditional masculinity often reigns. The documentary goes into the impact of their sexuality on their life and career; the … Continue reading Cassandro, The Exotico! (Review)
Tag: cinema
Monos (Review)
As a sensory experience, Monos is exceptional; in fact, it is rare to see a debut feature (Alejandro Landes) that is this assured, bold and visually spellbinding. This Lord of the Flies inflected story of child soldiers left alone with a hostage and a cow on a remote mountaintop (in an unspecified South American location, … Continue reading Monos (Review)
Ema (Review)
On a purely aesthetic level, Pablo Larraín's Ema is utterly spellbinding. The entire film is full of entrancing, and often ethereal, imagery (despite its realist trappings), bathed in neon hues and marked by striking cinematography. A lot of this is due to the film's focus on dance; our eponymous protagonist is a dancer (primarily of … Continue reading Ema (Review)
Who Let the Dogs Out (Review)
If you exist in the world, the phrase 'Who Let the Dogs Out' is instantly recognisable. However, were you aware that this phrase - specifically the repeated chorus of the Baha Men's hit song - is the source of a seemingly never ending legal dispute? Do you actually know who let the dogs out? Well, … Continue reading Who Let the Dogs Out (Review)
Extraction (Review)
About half way through Extraction, I found myself wondering if some stellar action sequences can make up for everything else in a film? And I mean everything else. At the end of the film, when I was relieved to realise that the final fifteen minutes of what I thought was a two hour film were … Continue reading Extraction (Review)
The Platform (Review)
A great premise can get you very far. However, it is what you do with it that ultimately matters. The Platform has a great premise and, to an extent, executes this premise well. But, with a film as overtly political and allegorical as this one, you need to provide a cogent thesis or clearly illustrate … Continue reading The Platform (Review)
The Whalebone Box (Review)
There's something inherently cinematic about a closed box. Open boxes? They aren't interesting. Closed boxes are instant enigmas full of potential, in which the obfuscation is the appeal. The Whalebone Box relies on this appeal and plays nicely with this idea. On its most basic level, this video collage by Andrew Kotting is about taking … Continue reading The Whalebone Box (Review)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
With Netflix (in most territories) adding the entire Ghibli back catalogue (minus Grave of the Fireflies) over the next three months, it’s the perfect time to either revisit or visit the collection. If revisiting, why not write about them? Great idea. Welcome to ‘Ghibli: The Netflix Batch,’ a collection of essays inspired by each film. … Continue reading Kiki’s Delivery Service (Ghibli: The Netflix Batch)
The Hunt (2020) (Review)
Unfortunately, the Hunt will be forever overshadowed by the controversy it caused. The controversy was ridiculous and framed the movie as something grotesque and deplorable. It also gave the film a huge political weight, one that it is not equipped to handle. Fundamentally, The Hunt is not the movie it was described as being - … Continue reading The Hunt (2020) (Review)
Bacurau (Review)
Starting out as a beautiful presentation of a distinct culture and identity, and ending up as a brutal defence of those very same concepts, Bacurau is a very impressive - and very important - film. Its clear tonal shift from start to end - functioning like a vérité exploration of an isolated, rural community in Brazil … Continue reading Bacurau (Review)
Assorted Opinions 