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…
A deeply distressing reality piece, Capharnaum pulls at the heart strings. The title translates to chaos and that’s what this film is about – surviving amid chaos. Zain (Zain Al Raffa) is a mistreated 12-year-old Lebanese boy. After being jailed for committing a violent crime, Zain sues his parents – mother Souad (Kawthar Al Bankole)…
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,…
Clever, zany and funny, Happy Death Day 2U ticks all the boxes for a sequel. I loved the creativity in the original and feared that any follow-up would be a disappointment. Fortunately though that’s not the case because the writer and director Christopher Landon has taken the finest elements of the initial offering and twisted…
Director Barry Jenkins proves Moonlight was no fluke with another outstanding piece of filmmaking in If Beale Street Could Talk. This gorgeous, multi-facted film takes a seemingly simple story and builds it into something much more. Jenkins fits together basically three aspects of the black experience in America. First he examines the importance of family….
James Cameron’s fingerprints are evident on the cyborg action romance Alita: Battle Angel; although Robert Rodriguez (Machete) directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island). The film is based on a manga series by Japanese comic book artist Yukito Kishiro. Originally announced in 2003, production on and release of the film were repeatedly…
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…
