A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” (2023) Aside from all the Hollywood fanfare fluff surrounding its release, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is actually an intriguing character study and legal drama…
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, “Kong: Skull Island” (2017) An example of how post-2000 Hollywood is squeezing as much juice as it can from all its past films (plus…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Henri Safran, “Storm Boy” (1976) A moody and melancholy film, ostensibly about a lonely boy who raises three pelican chicks and remains close to one of…
Francis Ford Coppola, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) A visually lavish and often surreal presentation, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the famous vampire novel still holds up…
Desiree Akhavan, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (2018) Set in 1993, this coming-of-age drama follows a teenaged girl’s sudden entry into a cruel world of psychological…
French and French-language Films
Mia Hansen-Løve, “Un Beau Matin” / “One Fine Morning” (2022) One fine morning in Paris … a woman’s life unexpectedly changes when, while visiting a park…
British Films, North American Films
Sam Mendes, “SPECTRE” (2015) As James Bond films go, “Spectre” looks gritty and stylishly in a minimal way all at once, but that’s as much as…
French and French-language Films
Alice Diop, “Saint Omer” (2022) At first presenting as a dry courtroom drama cum psychological character study, “Saint Omer” turns out to be a compassionate work…
Chris McKay, “Renfield” (2023) A cheerfully cheesy vehicle for Nicolas Cage to finally fulfil his life’s ambition to play Count Dracula, “Renfield” shifts the focus away…
Brandon Cronenberg, “Infinity Pool” (2023) Take away the extreme violence, the scenes of sleazy sex and the over-acting and what we end up with is a…