A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Sandun Seneviratne, Charlie Bray, “Vikaari” (2020) Cunningly disguised as a TV current affairs article / mini-documentary, complete with different styles of filming including videotaping, this short…
André Øvredal, “Tunnelen” (2016) Even something as seemingly innocuous and commonplace as driving to the seaside – and then getting stuck in peak-hour traffic on the…
Sadie Rogers, “How is This the World” (2019) Starting out almost as a gritty film noir crime thriller, this short film transforms into a music video…
Australian and New Zealand Films, North American Films
Brooke Goldfinch, “Red Rover” (2015) In less than 15 minutes, “Red Rover” explores very minimally in a character-driven study the reactions of individuals and a community…
Hyunsuk Kim, “Pinki” (2018) Initially looking like a Korean mash-up of Neil Blomkamp’s “District 9” and “Chappie” with The Transformers film series and Joonho Bong’s “The…
Mark Slutsky, “Final Offer” (2018) The premise is the height of implausibility but great acting from Aaron Abrams and Anna Hopkins as protagonist and antagonist lawyers…
Deepak Chetty, “Hard Reset” (2016) The premise and the plot are predictable and rather tired, as are also the “Blade Runner” urban setting and that film’s…
Sophia Banks, “Unregistered” (2018) This short film commenting on the treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency (2017 – 2021) has…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, Spanish Films
Alejandro Suarez Lozano, “The Fisherman” (2015) A cleverly made and succinct little SF horror film set in Hong Kong, “The Fisherman” combines a character study that…
Jesse Mittelstadt, “Flyby” (2019) In its own way this film can be considered a horror film, focusing as it does on how an alien force seems…