Eccentric Danish auteur Lars Von Trier makes controversial and deliberately confronting films. His latest is likely to be divisive as well. Despite the title, The House That Jack Built is not a family-friendly fairy tale. Rather this is Von Trier’s portrait of a sadistic serial killer. But the film isn’t as illuminating nor as insightful…
A Dog’s Way Home is a family-friendly and heartwarming animal adventure that combines elements of classics of the genre like Lassie Come Home, Homeward Bound, and even 2017’s A Dog’s Purpose. As a pup Bella was raised in the crawl space beneath a dilapidated house in Denver. She was rescued by Lucas (Jonah Hauer-King), who…
This laboured, overlong comedy inverts the premise behind What Women Want, the 2000 rom-com starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. In What Men Want, Taraji P Henson plays Ali, a self-absorbed and ambitious agent working in the male-dominated world of sports management. While she represents a number of Olympic athletes, she hasn’t got an NBA,…
Danish star Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt) virtually plays a lone hand in this grim tale of endurance and survival set in the frozen wastelands of the North Pole. Arctic recalls other survival dramas like All is Lost, in which Robert Redford played a lone role as a stranded sailor, or Cast Away with Tom Hanks…
It somehow seems ironic that a film exploring the last days in the life of a famous artists should itself be about as interesting as watching paint dry. At Eternity’s Gate is a biopic of the eccentric and misunderstood artist Vincent Van Gogh who died at the age of 37 in 1890. This story of…
Six strangers are brought together in an escape room challenge and have to use their wits when the game turns lethal in this hybrid horror/survival-thriller. It’s a bit like Saw, but without the torture. Six strangers – who seemingly have nothing in common – each receive a mysterious cube. When they manage to open it,…
Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey’s fall from grace was quite spectacular. Not only was his performance as John Paul Getty in Ridley Scott’s drama All the Money in the World deleted and his performance re-shot with Christopher Plummer, but he was fired from his hit TV series House of Cards and his character was killed…
Last year we saw the excellent documentary RBG, a comprehensive and insightful look at the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the diminutive lawyer and champion of human rights and gender equality who became the second woman ever appointed to the bench of the US Supreme Court. Ginsburg, who graduated at the top of…
Like the recent Beautiful Boy, Ben is Back is a drama about a family trying to cope with their teenage son’s drug addiction and the emotional toll it takes. With its story of a drug addicted teenager returning home for a visit with his family, Ben is Back makes a fine companion piece to that…
Cold Pursuit sees Liam Neeson (Taken) again taking violent revenge against a gang of criminals who have attacked his family. However, in a slight twist to the usual formula that drove his previous film, Cold Pursuit is actually a remake. It’s based on a 2014 Norwegian thriller In Order of Disappearance, which featured Stellan Skarsgard…
