Tag: Drama
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BlacKkKlansman
Spike Lee’s latest, loosely based on the early career of police-officer Ron Stallworth, opens with an icon scene from 1939’s Gone With the Wind. An iconic moment in American cinema, a distressed Scarlett O’Hara is wading through a sea of injured civil war soldiers. The camera gradually draws out, revealing the vast extent of the wounded.…
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Heathers: 30 Years On.
Popularity and cruelty have gone hand in hand since the dawn of the high-school movie. Every American coming-of-age romp explores high school’s twisted social hierarchy. Mean Girls, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Grease and The Breakfast Club; these movies all explore the inner politics of the playground within an age old status quo. A dog-eat-dog world, high-school has never been more…
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A Fantastic Woman.
Winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, A Fantastic Woman tells the story of one woman’s frustrating fight for recognition and respect in the wake of a sudden death. Leading the way is actor Daniela Vega in a tender performance as a transwoman abandoned, isolated and pushed aside. Marina is a waitress…
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Baby Driver.
Edgar Wright finally makes his highly anticipated directorial return following on from the underwhelming The World’s End, the final instalment of his ‘Three Flavours Cornetto’ trilogy. Since its energetic SXSW premiere earlier this year, Baby Driver has been a much talked about potential hit of the year and finally pulls into cinemas this Wednesday. The…
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Manchester by the Sea.
Following the death of his brother, a handy man residing in Boston must return to his hometown to oversee arrangements for the funeral, as well as the aftercare of his nephew. Lee is insular and isolated, highlighted through the crisp white snow we see him shovelling in the film’s opening scenes. He is often wrapped…
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Nocturnal Animals.
Various film posters adorn the walls of my bedroom and have done for the last ten years. I currently have seven framed prints in my room and back at my parent’s house my previous bedroom still features colossal framed images of Rear Window, Sleeper, Blade Runner and Raise the Red Lantern. Next to my expansive…
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Imperium.
From Donny Brasco to Point Break, there is something totally intoxicating about undercover cop movies. Director Daniel Ragussis’s feature debut centres around such activity. The plot: young and lonely FBI desk worker Nate Foster is asked to go undercover to infiltrate several neo-nazi organisations to determine and confirm their potential terrorist activities. Imperium shares many…
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Captain Fantastic.
Peter Bradshaw gave Captain Fantastic one star in the Guardian; describing its protagonist as “essentially a cross between Charles Manson and Captain von Trapp.” Although my reaction to the film completely opposes Bradshaw’s, I adore his description of Ben, the father of 6 children whom he is raising, educating and training in the wild, using…
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Café Society.
For the last year I’ve been terribly aware of being an apologetic Woody Allen fan. This is of course a conversation for another time but it makes me even more aware of whether or not his latest work either flops or soars. I could breath a sigh of relief when Midnight in Paris rolled into…
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Maggie’s Plan.
Written, directed and produced by Rebecca Miller, Maggie’s Plan is a spontaneous and whimsical piece of magic starring the impeccable Greta Gerwig. We meet Maggie on the cusp of a life altering decision. Making the choice to artificially inseminate herself with the produce of an aspiring pickle entrepreneur, Maggie is looking towards motherhood – content…
Hannah McHaffie 