Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: Ainu Mosir
The Ainu are the aboriginal people of Hokkaidō, Japan’s large northern island. Following centuries of oppression, discrimination, cultural invalidation, the Ainu were officially recognised as indigenous people of Japan in 2008. AINU MOSIR (after the Ainu name for Hokkaidō) tells … Continue reading
Review in Brief: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS is challenging, elusive, indulgent, alienating – a Charlie Kaufman film, in short. Like pretty much all of his work, reality is brought into question minute by minute, nobody ends up playing exactly the same character … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Rocks (2019/20)
The wonderful ROCKS completely broke me multiple times. It is the most loving tribute to friendship and the collaborative process of filmmaking. Thanks to director Sarah Gavron’s process involving classroom-based intensive workshopping and invaluable, grounding input from the young cast, … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Rebecca (2020)
I really liked Ben Wheatley’s REBECCA. With the impossible task of competing with Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning black-and-white classic, Ben Wheatley and co take a different path, turn a modern eye to a vintage tale and have produced something sumptuous, grand and … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Fanny Lye Deliver’d (2019/20)
FANNY LYE DELIVER’D is a 17th Century-set sort-of home invasion horror where a family of Puritans and particularly the titular character (Maxine Peake) are made to question their beliefs under duress by a “sinful”nontheistic and hedonistic Quaker couple. This is … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Swallow (2019/20)
In SWALLOW, Hunter (Haley Bennett, terrific) is trapped in a miserable marriage and pregnancy to a rich asshole. The only excitement in Hunter’s day, the only control she can exert on her monotonous life is which objects she puts into … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Lucy in the Sky (2019)
Questioning truth and the nature of reality is one of Noah Hawley’s favourite things to do. In FARGO it’s the weekly repeated introduction taken from the Coen Brothers film that “This is a true story”. In LUCY IN THE SKY … Continue reading
Review in Brief: You Don’t Nomi (2020)
YOU DON’T NOMI is a pleasingly in-depth documentary deconstruction of Paul Verhoeven’s infamous stripper film SHOWGIRLS. Admittedly, there’s a lot of fun to be had inserting scenes from Showgirls onto handy screens found within other, “better” Verhoeven movies, and they … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Following the bold BLACKKKLANSMAN, DA 5 BLOODS is again Spike Lee on fine form, with plenty to say. I loved the choice to not de-age the leads for the flashbacks, that in looking back it’s s them as they are … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 