1st Reviews

  The concept of loneliness has been explored in many ways. People may experience loneliness while in a relationship or by feeling isolated from the rest of the world. Whether the isolation is by choice to heal or to keep themselves safe, the underlying pain will unravel.   At times, the loss of self in a relationship accompanies the desperation of wanting the other person to see you how you want to be seen and, more importantly, how you want to be loved. People sometimes accept the treatment they think they deserve because the need for unconditional love overpowers logic.  In Luca Guadagnino’s  Queer , he explores the excitement of a new relationship through lustful, intimate moments between William Lee (Daniel Craig) and Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). The film is set in the early fifties in Mexico City. It is adapted from the novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. Guadagnino has Lee venturing through the bar scene attempting to find a partner tactfully be...

  Conclave brilliantly depicts the explosive collision between politics and religion. Edward Berger has crafted an exceptionally tense thriller out of something that should not be this enthralling, resulting in one of the year’s best films.  This fictional story is steeped in the very real religious and political practices of the Catholic Church. Confined within the Vatican, while the world around them crumbles after the death of their Pope, the Cardinals gather to decide which of them will succeed him. We’re taken through the exhausting and repetitive voting process, where at least two thirds of the party must agree on a single candidate. Of course, it’s not as simple as it seems on paper, as rumours, facts and secrets begin to emerge.  Not all of these candidates are as squeaky clean as they present themselves, and it isn’t long before they begin dragging each other through the mud. Just as it does with politicians, the election becomes vicious, veering toward smear tac...

  A survival thriller with a singular concept, Don’t Move makes solid use of its paralyzing plot device. It doesn’t quite reach the intensity or ingenuity its premise might have allowed for, but still delivers sufficient thrills throughout its lean 90 minute runtime.   How horrifying would it be to suddenly lose control of your own body? To slowly become trapped inside yourself, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to escape from danger facing you head on? The movie does a very good job conveying the total helplessness our protagonist experiences after she’s paralyzed by her captor. This is a tense game of cat and mouse, where the mouse can’t just scurry away.  Relatively early on, I thought to myself “how are they going to stretch this premise to feature length without it becoming completely implausible?”. To my pleasant surprise (save for some convenient plot devices and pure luck), they pulled it off. There could’ve been a little more creativity in the situations Ir...

The third and final  Venom  movie offers much stronger laughs due to the bromance between Eddie and Venom. Though there’s still a fair share of cringe, there are some more genuinely funny moments, which for some is all you can ask for from these movies. But it’s hard to pinpoint whether it’s a genuinely better movie than its predecessors, or the bar was set so low by them that enjoying this one is a little easier. Not to mention, coming out after  Morbius  and  Madame Web  does this movie many favors considering it’s nowhere near as unwatchable, but how high of a compliment is that really for a movie? Where the film struggles again is making any sense of its story or having any engaging conflict beyond its titular dynamic. For the first bit of the movie, I was enjoying the chemistry between Tom Hardy and the CGI black blob much more than in the past films, but it soon descends into the same dull action scenes and tedious symbiote science exposition these fi...

  For the past six years, Sony has produced different   Spider-Man  characters for Marvel that haven’t been used in previous films. The one character to kick off the Sony Marvel universe was   Venom . There has been a stark difference in quality between Sony Marvel films and Disney Marvel films, but the important thing is that they’ve explored different stories.   The Sony Marvel films still put care into the film’s worldbuilding, and the character development (specifically Venom) has been commendable. Sony has gone against the grain with the tone of their projects compared to the Disney Marvel films.  Sony Marvel has struck gold with Venom out of all the characters used. What began as a pure sci-fi narrative with a kooky parasite quickly became a franchise with a foundation built on friendship and compromise.  Some audiences do not appreciate the fun absurdity of Venom because of the cheap one-liners and goofy dialogue. The characterization of Venom h...

  Smile 2 opens with a phenomenal, heart pounding sequence and concludes with a jaw dropping showstopper of a finale. Everything in between can’t help feeling like a retread of the first movie, although that’s not entirely a bad thing.  Picking up shortly after the events of the first film, this sequel hits the ground running with one of the best opening scenes of the year. An exceptionally well orchestrated long take that had me on the edge of my seat, everything about it felt bigger and bolder than the first Smile. From there, we are introduced to our protagonist, Skye Riley - a pop icon with a troubled past. Being centred around a celebrity is a refreshing angle, but the plot hits so many of the exact same beats as the first movie, making it feel kind of stale.  If you’re looking for some good old fashioned jump scares, this movie’s got you covered. Most aren’t super creative, but they don’t feel cheap either. The practical and visual effects are greatly improved, givi...

  The Apprentice  envisions the rise of billionaire tycoon and megalomaniac Donald Trump as a teacher-student relationship between Trump and his cutthroat attorney Roy Cohn, the acolyte of many evildoers in American history such as Nixon and McCarthy. It takes a serious approach with only a dash of irreverence in its script and style, showing the true scope of the values America represents and the ones it claims to but fails. Sebastian Stan isn’t doing a comedic impersonation of the man like many we’ve seen on  Saturday Night Live , rather he transcends that and embodies Trump’s skin, becoming more and more like the Trump we’re used to seeing and hearing as the runtime progresses. Donald in the film is chronicled in his journey from a spoiled brat living off his dad’s achievements, to the narcissistic bully obsessed with greed and demonizing others. Much of what he seems to learn is attributed to his mentor, attorney Roy Cohn. Jeremy Strong is incredible in the role, givi...

Disclaimer is a brilliantly acted, gorgeously shot drama filled with lust, betrayal, and fascinating character dynamics. Alfonso Cuaron’s new limited series also feels relatively safe and straightforward, right up until the moment it doesn’t.  The series follows a handful of characters at various stages in their lives, slowly revealing their connection to one another. We’re presented with a bitter conflict between two of them in present times, and with each passing episode, we’re given a little more context about their history. It’s not initially clear who some of these characters are, as the series flips back and forth between past and present, making the central mystery all the more intriguing.  It’s a slow burn, which I thankfully had the opportunity to watch all at once. There are times in the middle of the series where I felt like the story was spinning its wheels, holding out on answers we should’ve had already. It’s 7 parts in total, which each running between 45 minute...

  This utterly startling and breathtaking film was literally a crime to be made in its own country, which adds to the incredible and urgent nature of watching it. It focuses on a family torn by accusations and conflicted beliefs on the country they live in and its future. That country of course being Iran, one of the most ruthless, sadistic, and barbaric regmies of the modern world. It’s a world we as viewers living in a nation with far more freedoms would hardly recognize: the leaders of the regime are everywhere in cutouts in a Big Brother-like fashion, and mistakes or free speech are not allowed, neither is female autonomy. The film brilliantly combines the real and the fiction; it’s not directly a true story, but at the same time, it’s happening right now -- it happened yesterday, today, and will happen again tomorrow. It seamlessly weaves the murder of Mahsa Amini by Iranian authorities into the story, as well as actual footage from social media of Iranian authorities brutally...

A mind bending party game among friends turns ugly in Netflix’s new original, It’s What’s Inside. This movie will send you on a twisty head trip that’ll have your brain working overtime, trying to keep track of who’s who.  Think Bodies Bodies Bodies meets Freaky Friday, and that’ll give you a basic idea of what you’re in for. This is not a “throw it on in the background while you’re on your phone” kind of movie, because it requires your constant attention. This is not two people switching bodies - it’s several, swapping more than once. Your hand isn’t going to be constantly held as you’re thrown into this trippy endeavour, although if you’re paying attention, the film does a good job keeping track.  The kinetic editing will intentionally disorient you, as if you’ve been cast into these characters’ headspace. It’s confusing, but that’s part of the fun. The use of colour, camera movement and various visual techniques ensures the swapping doesn’t become frustrating. It’s overwhel...

  Some born performers face hardships to get on a stage they’ve dreamed of. It’s not easy to be full of passion and stuck in a standstill trying to make ends meet. For some performers, a position on the Vegas strip dancing is comfortable, and for others, mostly younger girls, it may be a step in a grander pathway for what they’ve envisioned. The more modernized the Vegas Strip, the more dated certain performances become.   In Gia Coppola’s  The Last Showgirl , a group of women come to terms with the changing landscape of the Vegas Strip. When the stage manager, Eddie (Dave Bautista), announces the show will close permanently in two weeks, the ladies turn to other avenues while bitterly accepting their time together, sharing the stage will come to an end.  The star of the flashy-sequined show is Shelley (Pamela Anderson). She has been the centrepiece of the last three decades. Director Gia Coppola captures the behind-the-scenes moments of the oldest Showgirl holding h...