Marcel Marceau was regarded as the world’s foremost mime artist. But I dare say many would be unaware of intriguing his back story, as covered in Resistance. From his earliest, Marceau (Jesse Eisenberg) was driven to “perform”; something his religious Jewish father, Charles Mangel (Karl Markovics), railed against. There was a reason for that, which…
Mirage is a sparkling French-Canadian-German production that has a little of everything, and lots of what is essential to the success of a romantic thriller – sizzling chemistry between its two lead characters. As Claire wakes up alone in her Thailand hotel room, she hears screaming. Water is rising outside, and soon the panicked human…
Not all superheroes wear capes. Some are immortal ass-kickers. The Old Guard is a high-concept action-thriller that provides an origin story for what the producers no doubt hope will be a tentpole franchise in the future. The Old Guard was originally scheduled to be a high-profile summer release in the northern hemisphere; but the pandemic…
A mildly interesting, D-grade creature feature, Black Water: Abyss concerns a marauding crocodile in an Australian cave system. Five people set out on an adventure to explore the caves, which aren’t on any tourist map. Outside, a tropical storm is closing in. Once the group have rappelled into the depths, they’re caught in a torrent….
Tom Hanks both stars in and scripts Greyhound. And with his writer’s hat on, he does a pretty solid job in adapting C. S. Forester’s novel The Good Shepherd for the screen. Aaron Schneider – whose last film was the far more unconventional Get Low (2009) – steps into the director’s chair. And the result…
A series of fine performances led by Carolina Sanín highlight the Colombian drama Litigante. Silvia (Sanín) is a single mother of a four-year-old son, Antonio (Antonio Martínez). Life is a constant struggle for her. She has a responsible job, as Deputy Legal Director of a government department. At the same time, she and her sister…
A largely predictable romantic drama, Love Sarah centres around three generations of women who go into business together in a culturally diverse area of London’s Notting Hill. The Sarah of the title (Candice Brown) and Isabella (Shelley Conn) are best friends who were about to open a sweet-focused bakery together, but then tragedy struck. Sarah,…
The Irish drama-thriller Calm with Horses features a brutal but poignant script, skilful feature directorial debut and a bravura lead acting performance. Douglas “Arm” Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis) is a former boxer who fell in with a ruthless family. The family’s two no-nonsense brothers, Paudi (Ned Dennehy) and Hector Devers (David Wilmot), rule with an iron…
A man haunted by his past is forced to face his demons in the slow-moving horror film, The Vigil. Yakov Ronen (Dave Davis) is a shadow of a man in the aftermath of a tragedy that befell his younger brother. He was present; but he didn’t intervene and before he knew it, it was too…
Okay, this is a tough one. Shirley is out-there cinema for the dedicated cinephile. If you like a nice logical, linear plot with likeable characters, well, I’m afraid this isn’t for you. Director Jennifer Decker crafts an imagined portrait of the acclaimed writer Shirley Jackson that bathes in both the American Gothic that Jackson championed,…
