Tag: Review
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Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
Never. Rarely. Sometimes. Always: A multiple choice many will be familiar with in some form or another. These are the typical options that face anyone being asked to assess their mental and physical wellbeing in a medical setting. These words can appear anywhere from a dentist surgery form to a direct question from a therapist.…
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The Assistant.
“We need to strip the system down and rebuild it and make sure that things are fair and equitable for women. How do we examine the microaggressions that can strip a young woman of self confidence, that prevents her from climbing the ranks and do what the boys are doing?” These were recent words from…
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My Favourite Films of 2019.
This year, documentaries, horror films and adaptations of classic American literature all make it into my top ten. Following on from Get Out, Jordan Peele exceeded all expectations with the astonishing, original and confident Us. It’s closely followed at the top of my list by Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart which hit a painful, truthful nerve as well…
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Cats.
PSA: I’m a Cats apologist. As a child I would watch the VHS of the theatre production on repeat. I knew every jellicle cat’s name. The beauty of the musical, despite being an 80s coke-fuelled fever-dream of a production, is in the performers’ athleticism, the striking stage make-up and the extraordinary junkyard stage design. All…
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For Sama.
Reviewing documentaries is a very different beast to reviewing fiction. There are different considerations to be taken when attempting to weigh up the positive and negative qualities of a documentary film. Attempting to review For Sama is a whole separate challenge. Where to start with this compelling, horrifying, masterful movie? Director Waad Al-Kateab filmed many…
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Midsommar.
After leaving an eerie impression with family horror hit Hereditary, Director Ari Aster returns a year later with Midsommar. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, it is broken relationships that sits at the heart of this folk-festival nightmare. Dani, our grief-stricken protagonist accompanies her boyfriend and his friends on an academic expedition to Sweden…
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In Fabric.
Infamous for the intensity his film’s exude, Peter Strickland returns with In Fabric – following his critically acclaimed Dukes of Burgundy and Berberian Sound Studio. Though different in subject, all of his films overflow with an evident love of cinema, with Strickland having proved himself a master of bringing together the technical elements that make his films so…
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Booksmart.
For anyone who had a reasonably good time at high school, the memories remain romanticised. The simultaneous frustration of wanting to escape and the overwhelming sorrow at a poignant chapter coming to a close, it remains bittersweet. It’s no surprise that so many teen movies conclude with graduation ceremonies – a hopeful and uncertain time.…
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Us.
It’s not very often that a film is so striking, so complex and so delicious that attempting to write a review of it proves overwhelming. Where am I supposed to start with reviewing Jordan Peele’s Us? The director’s follow up to his 2017 debut confirms the true, consistent talents of Peele, undoubtedly a horror film…
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If Beale Street Could Talk.
In early 2017, I saw and reviewed Moonlight – Barry Jenkins’ remarkable coming of age story about sexuality, poverty and masculinity. Almost two years later, to the day, I am sitting down to review the directors’ next film, If Beale Street Could Talk. American movie romance doesn’t come much more sublime than this. Director Barry Jenkins…
Hannah McHaffie 