Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: Rebel Ridge (2024)
It’s depressingly rare today to come upon a suspense film that genuinely keeps you guessing the direction it is heading in. Jeremy Saulnier’s REBEL RIDGE, a politically pointed, punchy modern Western certainly does that. Terry (Aaron Pierre) rides into a … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Anora (2024)
Sean Baker, champion if those whose professions have made them persona non grata in American society has made his most crowd-pleasing film to date, winning him the Palme d’Or at Cannes for his troubles. Stripper Ani (Mikey Madison) falls for Ivan … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Inside Out 2 (2024)
The first INSIDE OUT, out of all of Pixar’s output, is probably the film that connects with adults far more than children. It was profound, clever and moving and seemed almost impossible to meaningfully follow up. INSIDE OUT 2, while … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Substance (2024)
How do you honestly react to THE SUBSTANCE without using expletives? The commentary on sexualised imagery and aging isn’t subtle, but Coralie Fargeat’s body horror is powerful, cinematic and by turns nauseating and uncomfortably hilarious. Movie star-turned-TV fitness guru Elisabeth … Continue reading
The Three Musketeers: Parts I & II (2023)
In over a century of cinema it’s strange to realise just how few French adaptations of Alexandre Dumas’ THE THREE MUSKETEERS there have been. This version from director Martin Bourboulon is probably the best of any version since the silent … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
The main problem with FURIOSA is that it’s not FURY ROAD. It’s not intending to be but it’ll leave a lot of fans expecting a none-stop thrill-ride disappointed. George Miller’s latest visit to the Australian post-apocalyptic wasteland first seen in … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Perfect Days (2023)
Beginning life as a tourist documentary proposal and developing into a narrative feature, Wim Wenders’ PERFECT DAYS is a modest, meticulous and beautiful 2 hours. Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is content with his daily routine and takes immense … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Dune: Part Two (2024)
That’s how it’s done. After joining the nomadic Fremen and taking his place as their reluctant messiah to tap into new powers drawn from the planet Arrakis itself, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) takes the fight to the murderous Harkonnens and … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Orion and the Dark (2024)
Charlie Kaufman’s latest exploration of existential dread is, unexpectedly, a kids’ animation from Dreamworks and director Sean Charmatz. Highly neurotic eleven-year-old Orion (Jacob Tremblay) is swept off on an adventure by the anthropomorphic personifications of night, lead by Dark (Paul … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 