Miranda July is a force of nature. The multi-talented writer (for both page and screen), artist, musician and actor can seemingly turn her hand to anything. But with everything on her plate, her film output has been a little sporadic. But she’s come roaring back with Kajillionaire, a film that will almost certainly please her…
The sensitive and affecting film Adam takes a close up look at two women from a poor Casablanca neighbourhood caught in an emotional maelstrom. Abla (Lubna Azabal) is a dour widowed mother who can’t get over the untimely death of her husband. Meanwhile, Samia (Nisrin Erradi) faces the imminent birth of a child alone and…
The lure of Italy is strong – especially for filmmakers. It seems every story of transformative discovery needs to play out against a sun-dappled backdrop in Sicily or the Veneto. But of course, Tuscany is particularly beloved (see Under the Tuscan Sun, and its ilk). So it’s not exactly surprising that British writer-director James D’Arcy…
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…
I find Richard Linklater a frustrating filmmaker sometimes. I mean, I love some of his films (School of Rock and Bernie, for example); but can’t get into others (like Boyhood and Last Flag Flying). His latest release here, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, falls into the latter category for me. This weirdly structured and ultimately thin…
I don’t have a thing for wine. Never had. Even an excellent wine, recommended by connoisseurs, won’t appeal to me. I never liked the taste of it. Why the hell would I watch a movie that focuses on the world of wines? Well, it’s just a coincidence. I discovered Uncorked while browsing Netflix and thought…
It may follow the playbook, but The Way Back still grips tightly. Back in high school, Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) had everything going for him. A basketball phenomenon, he could have punched his ticket to college or even the pros. Instead, he chose to walk away from the game, forfeiting his future. Jack’s glory days…
Fun, funny, light hearted, colourful and energetic, Shrek The Musical surprised me with its warmth, relatability and good natured banter. Of course, the 2001 Dreamworks Animation film starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow – upon which it is based, along with the 1990 book by William Steig – was a huge box office…
Talk about fighting fire with fire. A small company of brave, resilient and resourceful specialist firefighters – known as smokejumpers – are no match for the three brave, resilient and resourceful orphan children they rescue. I should explain that smokejumpers are highly trained men and women who provide the initial attack on wildfires by parachuting…
The latest installment in the Disney Villains spin-offs is a reprise of Maleficent – a twisted view of the Sleeping Beauty fable. Picking up where the original left off, Aurora (Elle Fanning) has been crowned Queen of the Moors and is living in the idyllic woods with her godmother Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), sidekick Diaval (Sam…
