This stunningly filmed Netflix documentary starts out somewhat offputtingly. It seems to have no purpose beyond showing off some incredible underwater cameras and to facilitate a man's desire to spend a year swimming in a beautiful location. Luckily, this all soon makes sense and is subverted - and legitimised - in a beautiful way. Throughout … Continue reading My Octopus Teacher (Review)
Tag: Netflix
Hillbilly Elegy (Review)
J.D Vance's best selling, and deeply controversial, memoir uses his lived experience (as presented by him) as the springboard for a number of conclusions about society and politics. He sees himself as a microcosm and from this projected an assortment of views that many, myself included (though I have admittedly only read around the book) … Continue reading Hillbilly Elegy (Review)
The White Tiger (Review)
You can sense the award winning novel at the heart of this adaptation. There are moments of fascinating subtext and well judged relationships - novelistic moments. Unfortunately, this film is overwhelmed by surface, and by aesthetic, turning an interesting exploration of the pernicious impacts of the Indian caste-system (and ingrained inequality) into something flashy but … Continue reading The White Tiger (Review)
Malcolm and Marie (Review)
It feels like too much has been written about Malcolm and Marie already, mostly because of how utterly inessential and forgettable the film is. When taken as proof that you can make a film during Covid-19 - that is thankfully not about Covid - it is, well, just that. It is also proof on the … Continue reading Malcolm and Marie (Review)
The Dig (Review)
The best way to describe Simon Stone’s film about the monumental discovery at Sutton Hoo in 1939 is through the metaphor of a dig itself. This is something that was definitely worth uncovering - you can tell there’s gold here. However, in approaching this project, Stone has dug too widely and only scratched the surface … Continue reading The Dig (Review)
Rocks (Review)
This pitch perfect evocation of teenage life (specially teenage girls and primarily people of colour) ends with this statement in the credits: ‘The cast and many other young Londonds collaborated with the writers and filmmakers to create the characters and world of our film.’ This collaborative approach, an ethos further enforced by the want to … Continue reading Rocks (Review)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Review)
At the heart of this adaptation of August Wilson’s stage play are two phenomenal performances. Viola Davis stars as the titular Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman (whose tragic death hangs heavy over this film, his final film) as jazz trumpeter Levee. Boseman is just outstanding here, his performance is loud and powerful, but marked by … Continue reading Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Review)
Mank (Review)
David Fincher's Mank is yet another example of Netflix clearly letting a filmmaker make the exact film that they wanted. There is an entertaining irony here, seeing as Mank chronicles the writing of - and inspiration for (in two discrete timelines) - Citizen Kane, focusing on conflicts between filmmakers and executives who all want to … Continue reading Mank (Review)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Review)
Aaron Sorkin's drama about a landmark court case that revolves around issues of police violence, corruption of the legal system and racism begins with a getting the gang together style montage. The pre-credits sequence is edited to playful music that evokes a caper or adventure. The key figures of the trial are introduced here, sort … Continue reading The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Review)
His House (Review)
There is a lot going on in Remi Weekes' horror film. For the most part, this is a great thing, as this narrative that follows the lives of a couple from South Sudan - who have been forced to flee to England, where they now live as refugees - encompasses so many important issues. However, … Continue reading His House (Review)
Assorted Opinions 