The price of fame drives one of the most intense and remarkable films of the year. The Substance is about physical beauty, adoration, self-love and loathing. It explores the lengths someone will go to remain relevant. Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) used to be a movie star, before transitioning to hosting a successful workout show on…
Yorgos Lanthimos can be polarising. Even among his own fan-base, his films can be divisive. Recently, something of a split has emerged between fans of his “old stuff” (like Dogtooth and The Lobster) and those of his “new stuff” (The Favourite and Poor Things). I’m a bit on the fence here, because I’m certainly a…
You know how siblings can be. When one gets to do something, the other just has to do it too. So when Joel Coen stepped out of the Coen Brothers cocoon in 2021 to direct the brooding, highly stylised The Tragedy of Macbeth, it was only a matter of time before younger brother Ethan Coen…
Greatness is never achieved by mere proximity. But that doesn’t stop thousands from trying to get close to their heroes. People feel the need to be a part of those who’ve transcended the mundanity of everyday life – whether in sport, business or art. It could be a piece of memorabilia, an autograph, or even…
What would you do if the impossible was real? Director Rowan Athale wants you to contemplate that big question in his new thriller Strange But True. Unfortunately his big question gets lost in a muddled script that strains credibility. Eric Garcia has adapted John Searles’ novel of the same name for the screen. It seems…
