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About SSP
Sam Sewell-Peterson
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
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Fresh Thoughts on Film
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Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: Something in the Dirt (2022)
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s follow-up to the weird THE ENDLESS and the (slightly) more mainstream SYNCHRONIC is another low-key, cerebral sci-fi, this time filmed mostly in Moorhead’s own LA apartment out of Lockdown necessity. Two new neighbours discover a … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Sci-fi, Something in the Dirt, Synchronic, The Endless
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Review in Brief: Pearl (2022)
X was a huge surprise horror hit earlier in 2022, so when the news dropped that director Ti West and star Mia Goth had simultaneously shot a prequel movie in secret, fans were eager to see what came next (or … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Horror, Mia Goth, Pearl, Ti West, X
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Review in Brief: Living (2022)
How can you improve on a classic from a master? You lean into the period detail, come at it from a new cultural perspective and make the meditation on mortality even sadder. Based on Akira Kurosawa’s IKIRU, Oliver Hermanus’ (director … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Aimee Lou Wood, Akira Kurosawa, Bill Nighy, Drama, Ikiru, Living, Oliver Hermanus
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Review in Brief: The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
In Martin McDonagh’s latest dark fable, friends become separable on an island off Ireland small enough to not be able to avoid each other. Day after day Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) meet at the pub and chatter … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Black Comedy, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Drama, Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
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Review in Brief: Aftersun (2022)
Charlotte Wells is a filmmaker unafraid to let a scene play out, to hold exactly as long as is required. AFTERSUN follows 31 year-old divorced dad Calum (Paul Mescal, sensational) and his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio, an instant star), both … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Aftersun, Charlotte Wells, Comedy, Drama, Frankie Corio, Paul Mescal
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Review in Brief: Do Revenge (2022)
DO REVENGE is MEAN GIRLS meets STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, but with plenty of choice 90s needle drops. After a humiliating sex tape is leaked to her prep school, former queen bee Drea Torres (Camila Mendes) makes a deal with … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Quiet Girl (2022)
Colm Bairéad’s unassuming Irish Language drama THE QUIET GIRL completely broke me more than any other film this year. In the 1980s (though it could really be set in any era) timid girl Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is fostered on her … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Carrie Crowley, Catherine Clinch, Colm Bairéad, Drama, The Quiet Girl
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Review in Brief: Brian and Charles (2022)
This simply delightful Wallace and Gromit-riffing absurdist comedy from Jim Archer follows Brian (David Earl), a lonely inventor of useless things who makes himself a robot friend from a mannequin and a washing machine. The AI mind of the robot, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Brian and Charles, Chris Hayward, Comedy, David Earl, Jim Archer
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Review in Brief: The Outfit (2022)
THE OUTFIT is one of the best films with one of the worst trailers of 2022. The marketing might have had you fooled that you had it all figured out, but this tense little chamber piece about a British cutter … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Graham Moore, Mark Rylance, Mystery, The Outfit, Thriller, Zoey Deutch
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