About SSP
Personal Links
Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: I Care a Lot (2020/21)
You can easily see why I CARE A LOT has been a divisive film. One ever-reliable truism to fall back on when talking about what makes a compelling film is that a protagonist doesn’t have to be likeable but they … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Black Comedy, Chris Messina, Diane Wiest, I Care a Lot, J Blakeson, Peter Dinklage, Rosamund Pike, Thriller
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Between INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE and now THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES, Sony Pictures Animation are in a league of their own. Nobody else is creating animated features with this energy, emotion and visual uniqueness quite like them. Aspiring filmmaker Katie’s … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Nomadland (2020)
Arguably no filmmaker since Agnés Varda has blended elements of documentary and fiction together as effectively as Chloé Zhao. NOMADLAND’s narrative is loose and meandering, but only to reflect the Nomad on-the-move, purposeful and yet purposeless lifestyle. Following industrial collapse … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Chloé Zhao, Drama, Frances McDormand, Joshua James Richards, Nomadland, Oscars, Road Movie
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Run (2020)
Non-specific spoilers for RUN ahead. If there’s one mystery-thriller movie trope that really needs to die, it’s the Convenient Incriminating Evidence Box. Aneesh Chaganty’s sophmore feature is far less assured than SEARCHING, being about 50 minutes of a decent thriller … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Aneesh Chaganty, Kiera Allen, Mystery, Run, Sarah Paulson, Searching, Thriller
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Promising Young Woman (2020)
With PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has crafted one of the most challenging and keen-edged debut films in years, and it’s making just the right kinds of people mad. Cassie (Carey Mulligan) spends her evenings pretending to be blackout … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Bo Burnham, Carey Mulligan, Drama, Emerald Fennell, Oscars, Promising Young Woman, Thriller
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Baby Done (2020/21)
A lot of New Zealand comedies have a very distinct feel, and BABY DONE from writer-director team Curtis Vowell and Sophie Henderson echoes the voice of its producer Taika Waititi. This is deadpan-funny, heartfelt and unafraid to make its protagonist … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Baby Done, Comedy, Curtis Vowell, Matthew Lewis, Rose Matafeo, Sophie Henderson, Taika Waititi
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH tells a heightened version of a story that everyone should know, and tells it with righteous anger. Unfortunately some elements of the film’s abundant style do admittedly get in the way, like the depiction of … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Daniel Kaluuya, Drama, Judas and the Black Messiah, LaKeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen, Oscars, Shaka King
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Minari (2020)
There’s no debate, MINARI is an American film – what could be more American than a tale of a family buying a farm and dreaming of living off the land? It’s astounding that the film features two of the first … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Drama, Lee Isaac Chung, Minari, Oscars, Steven Yeun, Youn Yuh-jung
Leave a comment
Review in Brief: Ammonite (2020)
AMMONITE is a labour-intensive, impeccably detailed and tender film, the second from tactile master Francis Lee. This is a story of passions, of the agony of being starved of them, of being kept from them. Direct comparisons to PORTRAIT OF … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Ammonite, Francis Lee, God's Own Country, Historical Drama, Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan
Leave a comment
