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The Marksman – movie review

A by-the-numbers revenge thriller, The Marksman centres around a Mexican cartel taking retribution against the family of a man who stole from them. That man – Uncle Carlos (Alfredo Quiroz) – knows he’s toast. With the cartel on his tail, he puts in a hurried call to his niece Rosa (Teresa Ruiz), telling her to…

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Only The Animals – movie review

Only The Animals surprised me. This remarkably well-constructed French mystery-thriller is three stories in one. Alice Farange (Laure Calamy) is in a loveless marriage in rural France. She’s having an affair with a strange loner named Joseph Bonnefille (Damien Bonnard), who barely tolerates her. Then Bonnefille seemingly callously ditches her giving no reason. There’s a…

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Penguin Bloom – movie review

This uplifting feelgood drama is based on the true story of Sam Bloom (played here by Naomi Watts), a fun loving and active mother of three boys who was left paralysed following an accident during a holiday in Thailand. Unable to feel anything from the waist down and stuck in a wheelchair Sam descended into…

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Ammonite – movie review

Francis Lee follows up his well-received debut feature, God’s Own Country (2017), by mixing fact and fiction in Ammonite*. This finely constructed drama explores a real-life relationship, but takes it in directions not necessarily supported by the historical record. As in God’s Own Country, Ammonite delves into a same-sex relationship in a somewhat remote location….

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Music – movie review

The decidedly quirky drama-musical Music marks the directorial debut of Sia. She also co-wrote the screenplay (with Dallas Clayton), based on her own short story, and penned the songs that feature prominently. Music (Maddie Ziegler) is on the autism spectrum and never parts from her headphones. She constantly listens to – you guessed it –…

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Promising Young Woman – movie review

Tragedies and reckonings during 2020 brought the issue of sexualised violence prominently into the headlines. So Emerald Fennell’s powerful contemplation on the topic, Promising Young Woman, couldn’t be better timed. Fennell is a British actor and writer (she worked on the hit UK shows The Crown and Killing Eve), and Promising Young Woman marks her…

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Pieces of a Woman – movie review

A deeply traumatic beginning gives way to emotionally wrought second and third acts in Kornél Mundruczó’s drama Pieces of a Woman. From a well-to-do family, Martha (Vanessa Kirby) is in a relationship with a rough and ready working class man, Sean (Shia LaBeouf). They both excitedly await the birth of their first child. Martha opts…

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