Category Archives: Review in Brief

Review in Brief: First Cow (2019/20)

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

FIRST COW is one of those films that drops you into another time and every small detail adds to its palpable authenticity. Nobody films slow and beautiful stories like Kelly Reichardt. Cookie (John Magaro) is a man trying to get … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Dig (2021)

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

If it wasn’t on Netflix, THE DIG would be destined for Sunday afternoon TV circulation in perpetuity. That’s not to disparage the craft and passion that went into it, from Simon Stone’s steady direction to Mike Eley’s pristine cinematography and … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Synchronic (2019/20)

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Weird sci-fi wunderkinds Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead don’t quite drop the ball with their third feature but it’s certainly a less assured effort than something like THE ENDLESS. Still by no means lacking ideas or visual creativity, but more … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Archive (2020/21)

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Indie sci-fi ARCHIVE wears its genre influences on its sleeve – MOON, EX MACHINA, SILENT RUNNING an iconic sequence lifted wholesale from GHOST IN THE SHELL. An engineer (Theo James) develops a series of increasingly sophisticated robot bodies to house … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: One Night in Miami… (2020)

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

In 1964, Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown met at a Miami hotel and spent the night in Malcom X’s room. That’s what we know happened – director Regina King and writer Kemp Powers imagine what was … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Pieces of a Woman (2020)

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

While some of its speeches might be a little too mannered and stagey (if still gamely performed by the cast) PIECES OF A WOMAN still comes out on the captivating side. How grief corrupts and deforms people is not sugarcoated … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Whatever went on behind the scenes, however the slow implosion of the DCEU effected its final, flawed form, I absolutely get what director Patty Jenkins was going for with WONDER WOMAN 1984. It’s a big, goofy and outlandish comics Silver … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Time (2020)

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

TIME is a must-see documentary about injustice and inequality in the US penal system, one that makes  you wonder how much longer urgently-needed reforms can be avoided if films like this keep getting made and scores of victimised citizens’ stories keep … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Babyteeth (2019/20)

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

With a premise that could have either been maudlin or saccharine (teenager with cancer falls for a bad boy) BABYTEETH instead ends up being bittersweet, often joyous and lyrical. This is musical filmmaking without actually being a musical with its … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Aaron Sorkin’s greatest strengths as a writer and a filmmaker are also his greatest weaknesses, but he’s probably the kind of idealistic voice the world needs right now. This is never truer than in watching THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO … Continue reading →

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