Background In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved into two independent states: Czech Republic (made up of the Bohemia and Moravia regions) and Slovakia. The 20th Century up until that point had been a turbulent time for the former country. After World War I, it gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and grew into a socially and economically … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 4: Closely Watched Trains (1966 Jiří Menzel)
Avengers: Endgame (2019, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. Music by Alan Silvestri. Featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin, Brie Larson, Don Cheadle, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner and Gwyneth Paltrow (but the … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Avengers: Endgame (2019 Russo Brothers)
Us (2019, Monkeypaw Productions and Blumhouse Productions) Written and directed by Jordan Peele. Music by Michael Abels. Featuring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, and Tim Heidecker. The brilliant Jordan Peele returns to the director’s chair with another horror film. This time about a family holidaying in Santa Cruz, California … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Us and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018, Annapurna Pictures) Directed by Barry Jenkins. Featuring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo and Diego Luna. If Beale Street Cold Talk, based on the novel of the same name by James Baldwin, is a romantic drama set within a backdrop of early 1970s racial relations in New … Continue reading The Two Reviews: If Beale Street Could Talk and Alita: Battle Angel
The 2019 French Film Festival of Australia is in its 30th year now. It is the largest film festival dedicated to French cinema in the world and is presented by the Alliance Française of Australia. The festival will screen French films across many Luna Palace Cinemas in Perth from mid-March to mid-April, as well as … Continue reading Review Special: The 2019 French Film Festival of Australia – Advanced screening of The Sisters Brothers
Roma (2018, Mexico and US, on Netflix in Spanish with subtitles) Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Featuring Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Jorge Antonio Guerrero, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, Diego Cortina Autrey, Carlos Peralta and Verónica García. As you may have heard, Roma is the highly acclaimed, award season favourite from Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón. It … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Roma and Cold War
The Mule (2018, Imperative Entertainment, Bron Creative and Malpaso Productions) Directed by Clint Eastwood. Based on 'The Sinaloa Cartel's 90-Year-Old Drug Mule' by Sam Dolnick. Featuring Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest and Andy García. Directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood, The Mule is a crime drama/thriller in which … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Mule and Velvet Buzzsaw
Green Book (2018, Participant Media, DreamWorks, Innisfree and Cinetic Media) Directed by Peter Farrelly. Featuring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini. Review 1 by Annabelle Davis Green Book follows the story of African-American jazz pianist Don Shirley (played by Ali) and his driver-come-bodyguard Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen), set in the early 1960s. Tony is a classic … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Green Book (2018 Peter Farrelly)
Mary Queen of Scots (2018 Focus Features and Working Title Films) Directed by Josie Rourke. Featuring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, David Tennant, Guy Pearce, Jack Lowden and Joe Alwyn. Mary Queen of Scots is a period drama set in the second half of the 16th Century about the troubled reign of Queen Mary of Scotland … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Mary Queen of Scots and The Front Runner
Shoplifters (2018, Gaga Pictures Japan) Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Featuring Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jō, Miyu Sasaki and Kirin Kiki. I have always found the award winners from the Cannes Film Festival to be a far better representation of the best films from around the world than the Oscars. Winners of the … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Shoplifters and The Favourite
