Round-up of Films seen in 2019
Dear USE readers and visitors, Where did 2019 go to? The year just seems to have whooshed by and already I am writing another round-up review…
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A Date in 2025: sci-fi romantic comedy short on human-technology interactions
Ryan Turner, “A Date in 2025” (2017) Goofy teenage romantic comedy about a socially awkward and self-conscious young man meets insidious panopticon nanny-state, courtesy of artificial…
After Her: missing-girl parody that leads to a personal transformation
Aly Migliori, “After Her” (2018) A young man, Callum (Christopher Dylan White), goes in search of a young woman, Hayley (Natalia Dyer), five years after she…
Apocalypse Now Now: where superstition and technology create monsters in a post-apocalyptic urban dystopia
Michael Mathews, “Apocalypse Now Now” (2017) Made as a proof-of-concept film on which a television series or a feature film will be based, “Apocalypse Now Now”…
British Films, North American Films
Invaders: a whimsical Christmas SF film provides some sobering food for thought about human social needs
Daniel Prince, “Invaders” (2018) Playing as a homage and parody of the 1980s film “Batteries Not Included” in which a bunch of tiny extraterrestrial cyborg spaceships…
Sorry We Missed You: a social realist docudrama that feels not a little exploitative itself
Ken Loach, “Sorry We Missed You” (2019) He may be well into his 80s but Ken Loach continues to make social realist film dramas that document…
Regulation: character study of how a police state controls citizens through small decisions and actions
Ryan Patch, “Regulation” (2019) Set in the not-too distant future, in perhaps a post-industrial / hyper-cybernetic age, this short film character study is an intimate and…
The Good Liar: a story of identity, reinvention and revenge shafted by a superficial script
Bill Condon, “The Good Liar” (2019) Getting two giants of British stage and film proved to be the least of director Bill Condon’s problems; the biggest…
Arabic-language Films, Middle Eastern Films
Profiles in Courage: ENN Middle East reporter Gertrude Bellinger – parodying Western MSM disinformation on Middle East affairs
Pavel Serezhkin, “Profiles in Courage: ENN Middle East reporter Gertrude Bellinger” (2019) Written and produced by The Grayzone journalist Rania Khalek who plays ENN Middle East…
Knives Out: superficial examination of class and privilege in crime comedy whodunnit
Rian Johnson, “Knives Out” (2019) At times playing like a spoof of the classic whodunnit murder mystery that takes place in a palatial mansion and the…