To Leslie
There’s an appealing lo-fi aesthetic to this immersive character-driven drama. Screenwriter Ryan Binaco (3022) was allegedly motivated to pen a tribute to his mother’s life. He reportedly drew inspiration from the 1970 movie Wanda by Barbara Loden as well. However, this portrait of a troubled American mother experiencing questionable mental health also suggests other films […]
Aftersun
Aftersun is a moisturizing lotion applied to the skin to soothe sunburn and avoid peeling. The symbolic title announces a deceptively simple movie with significant depth. It opens with rewinding home video footage of a vacation at a modest resort in Turkey during the summer of 1999. The videotape reignites the memories of that trip […]
Fast Film Reviews on talkSPORT radio
On Sunday, December 18th I discussed 4-time Oscar nominee and Best Picture contender AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Hear my review on the radio for UK-based talkSPORT. This is a bit late now, but I also discussed the Christmas-themed THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL, which was a hit on Disney+. My segment begins […]
All Quiet on the Western Front
Author Erich Maria Remarque’s realistic depiction of combat from the perspective of young soldiers in the trenches was a best-selling 1929 novel. As a German veteran of World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front connected with soldiers and civilians across the globe. It sold 2.5 million copies in 22 languages in its first […]
Women Talking
From its title, you expect an inspirational tribute to female empowerment. Sadly Women Talking is more frustrating than satisfying. Here’s why. This chronicle is based on a scandal that occurred among the Mennonites of Manitoba Colony. Mennonites are Christians formed during the Protestant Reformation. Neither Catholic nor Protestant, they are often closely associated with the […]
M3GAN
The killer doll story has been a subset of horror for decades. Early instances of the well-worn trope can be found in Dead of Night (1945) and TV’s The Twilight Zone (1959). The 1970s reintroduced the concept with Trilogy of Terror (1975), Magic (1978), and Tourist Trap (1979), but it popped up the most during […]
Emily the Criminal
Emily Benetto is facing a mountain of crippling debt from student loans. She also has a felony conviction, preventing her from getting a regular job. The details are sketchy. We hear it’s from an assault. She mentions she fought a lot with an ex-boyfriend. That ambiguity helps us side with her. Longtime best friend Liz […]