ph: Emma Tempest
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Rememory (2017)
An amateur sleuth steals a machine that can extract, record and
play the memories of another person, and uses the device to try and
solve the mysterious death of the man who invented it.
Intelligent sci-fi drama explores memory and its pitfalls slowly and skillfully revealing truth of a harrowing incident.
Knives Out (2019)
A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Agatha Christie-like crime mystery, complete with a large cast of stars with little chance to show their talents, is nicely set and mildly entertaining, although the Trump-era allusions are so slight that they are hardly noticeable.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Full of misgivings, a young woman travels with her new boyfriend to his parents' secluded farm. Upon arriving, she comes to question everything she thought she knew about him, and herself.
Beautiful photography and set pieces, stellar performances and an increasingly surreal plot make this film an intriguing watch, although it asks more question than giving answers, and the ending is a bit disappointing.
Monday, December 28, 2020
First Lines: Dennis Lehane - Live by Night
Some years later, on a tugboat in the Gulf of Mexico, Joe Coughlin's feet were placed in a tub of cement.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Away (2020)
An American astronaut struggles with leaving her husband and daughter
behind to embark on a dangerous mission with an international space
crew.
Good, well-made TV sci-fi entertainment with an excellent cast does deliver suspense and some psychological drama - but you'll need to skip the science involved and: NASA would never put together this motley crew onto such a mission.
Saturday, December 26, 2020
The Iron Giant (1999)
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Wonderfully
crafted animation feature creates a nostalgic as well as ironic view of
50s Cold War hysteria and presents a quite contemporary pacifist
message.
Halliwell***: "Set at a time of Cold War and nuclear paranoia and the
beginnings of space exploration, this is an engaging, well-animated
fable of pacifism and self-realisation that should find a ready audience
among adults as well as children."
Maltin***: "Striking and original animated feature gently pokes fun at
1950s paranoia (and sci-fi movies)...That writer-director Bird and his
animators can bring such feeling to a metallic character is just one of
this film's triumphs."
Friday, December 25, 2020
Thelma (2017)
A confused religious girl tries to deny her feelings for a female friend who's in love with her. This causes her suppressed subconsciously-controlled psychokinetic powers to reemerge with devastating results.
Intense and atmospheric supernatural thriller is more psychological drama than horror with some good disturbing scenes and a great lead performance by Eili Harboe.
Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (1959)
Two French college girls each meet a boy named Patrick and quickly realize that it is less a coincidence then they think.
A nicely executed tale (written by Rohmer) convinces with its light touch and witty dialogues.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Emerald Cities (1983)
A young woman leaves her boozy father behind to seek her fortune in San Francisco.
Madcap off-kilter independent black comedy genuinely encapsulates the absurdist apocalyptic sense of its time - plus the music.
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
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