Belfast (2021, Universal Pictures / Focus Features / Northern Ireland Screen) ★★★★★ Featuring Jamie Dornan, Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan and Jude Hill. Music by Van Morrison. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Belfast is a self-biographical film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Filmed mostly in black and white, it is … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Belfast and Nightmare Alley
The last few months of 2021 and the opening of 2022 – the festive season or summer in the southern hemisphere – marks the re-emergence of major film releases following the COVID outbreak. While all through 2021 there was a steady release of films, the big-budget blockbusters have been held back until late 2021. A … Continue reading A Summer Selection of Film, Part 2
The last few months of 2021 and the opening of 2022 – the festive season or summer in the southern hemisphere – marks the re-emergence of major film releases following the COVID outbreak. While all through 2021 there was a steady release of films, the big-budget blockbusters have been held back until late 2021. A … Continue reading A Summer Selection of Film, Part 1
The Extraordinary (Hors Normes) Directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano. Featuring Vincent Cassel, Reda Kateb, Hélène Vincent, Bryan Mialoundama, Alban Ivanov, Benjamin Lesieur, Marco Locatelli, and Catherine Mouchet. In French with English subtitles. Showing at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2020 across Australia. This French drama was released as Hors Normes at the … Continue reading The One Review: The Extraordinary / Hors Normes (2019 Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano)
This will be an on-going series of posts on cinematography from around the world. Initially, it was intended to be a single post but there are so many aesthetically interesting and innovatively shot films from around the world that it is just too difficult to do that in one go. Just think of some of … Continue reading Cinematography of the World, Part 1: China Post-1990
This is a short excursion into the film careers of four extraordinary female actors of early cinema. All four women set new standards in dramatic performance, all came to fame as outstanding beauties of their time, and yet all brushed away vanity to portray diverse roles, impaired personalities and to smash down stereotypes. Lillian Gish … Continue reading Four Icons of Early Cinema – Part 2: Lillian Gish
This is a short excursion into the film careers of four extraordinary female actors of early cinema. All four women set new standards in dramatic performance, all came to fame as outstanding beauties of their time, and yet all brushed away vanity to portray diverse roles, impaired personalities and to smash down stereotypes. Asta Nielsen … Continue reading Four Icons of Early Cinema – Part 1: Asta Nielsen
Late Night (2019, Amazon Studios) Director: Nisha Ganatra; Featuring: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Amy Ryan, Hugh Dancy, Denis O'Hare and Reid Scott. Late Night is a light comedy about the fading popularity of an opinionated host. She runs a late-night talk show, and along with her team of writers, she tries to get … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Late Night and Joker
Ophelia (2018, IFC Films) Directed by Claire McCarthy. Screenplay by Semi Chellas. Featuring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen and George MacKay. Ophelia is a retelling of the classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia, one of the most iconic tragic female figures in literature. But this is a retelling of her … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Ophelia and Midsommar
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019, Sony Pictures) Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern and Al Pacino. Narrated by Kurt Russell. SPOILER ALERT: Please note that some of the film's plot is discussed in detail below. Once Upon … Continue reading The One Review: Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019 Quentin Tarantino)
Momentary Cinema 